.  OP  CALIF.  HBMRX*  LOS  ANGELES 


Guys  MARRIAGE; 

OR, 

THE  SHADOW  OF  A  SIX, 


BY     HENRY    GREVILLE. 

ACTTHOB   OF   "nostA,"  "SAVEU*S  EXFiATioie,"  "  MABBTOC   OFF  A   nAOGRTZ 

" THE  FBIMCESS  OGHEBOF,"  " XAJUEOF,"  "THE   TRIALS  OP   RA1SSA,"  "  DOCTUWF, 
"Sn.TTE'S   KBTBOTHED,"    "  GABRJELCS,"   "  mHOUrMAmni,"    "  L4.X3B   BODEY," 
nCHESTTAJGCB,"    **  FKBTTT   OOCTCTES5  SKA,"   "  A   FRJEXD ," 
SOaOA,"    "TAJSIA'S     PEKIL." 


TRANSLATED  BY  MART  SEAL  SHERWOOD. 


"  COT'S  MABKIAGB:  on,  THE  SHADOW  OF  A  Snt."  Hoary  GreriDe's  latest  and  best 
novel,  is  a  strong  and  absorbing  romance  in  its  gibed  author's  moat  tdfing  vein.  It 
appeals  paiticularh/  to  ladies,  far  it  is  the  unvarnished  record  of  a  woman's  fife.  The 
heroine  ts  clever  and  quick,  but  is  not  beyond  die  reach  of  temptation,  and  the  uncer- 
tainty as  to  what  her  fate  wiS  be  is  so  skittutty  maintained  that  tbe  reader  is  kept  on  die 
gin  paw  to  the  last.  Her  husband  is  a  sham,  but  a  good-natured  one,  and  Monsieur  oe 
Fresnes,  who  supplies  the  element  of  danger,  is  a  1  nJiTarftrT  drawn  vith  a  master  hand. 
Italian  conies  very  near  Zola's  creations,  and  imparts  a  great  deal  of  vitality  to  tbe 
noveL  The  plot  is  weffl  woven,  and  the  incidents  aH  make  then-  mark,  one  of  them,  tbe 
ifc4ant«mmv  :t  -  z  t,.:^-.r.±  r  >:.rr -z  Item  .f  s.;-t  hnTM  .-  :r;  hoafc.bM  AW 
author  deals  mainly  with  the  serious  side  of  human  nature.  "  GUT'S  MABBIAIGE;  OE, 
THE  SHADOW  OF  A  Six."  wtB  abundandy  repay  al  who  tend  k. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

T.   B.   PETERSON  &  BROTHERS; 
306     CHESTNUT    STREET. 


COPYRIGHT:— 1883. 


ITFXRT    GREVIM.F/S    CELEBRATED    NOVELS. 

Sylvie's  Betrothed.    A  Charming  Lore  Story.    By  Henry  GrerilU,  author  of 
"Dosia,"  "Saveli's  Expiation,"  "Sonia,"  "The  Princess  Ogherof,"  "Dournof,"  etc. 

Doala.    A   Charming   Story    of  Russian    Society.    By  Henry   Grerille,  author  cf 
"  Saveli's  Expiation,"  "Sonia,"  "The  Princess  Ogherof,"  "Bonne-Matie,"  etc. 


The  Trials  of  Raissa.    A  Russian  Love  Story.    By  Henry  GrMllf,  author  of 
"  Dosia,"  "  Saveli's  Expiation,"  "  Soni-i,"  "  Marrying  off  a  Daughter,"  etc. 


8av£li's  Expiation.    A  Powerful  Russian  Love  Story.    By  Henry  GrMlle,  author 
of  "Dosia,"  "Souia,"  "The  Princess  Ogherof,"  "Marrying  off  a  Daughter,"  etc. 

Tbe  Princess  Ogherof.    A  Russian  L<>ve  Story.    By  Henry  GrMllr,  author  of 
"Dosia,"  "baveli's  Expiation,"  "Bonne-Marie,"  "Marrying  off  a  Daughter,"  etc. 

Marrying  Off  a  Daughter.    A  Society  Novel.     By  Henry  Greville,  author  r>f 
"Dosia,"  "Saveii's  Expiation,"  "Sonia,"  "The  Princess  Ogherof,"  "  Dournof,"  etc. 

Lurie  Itodey.    A  New  Society  Novel.    By  Henry  OrevfOe,  author  of  "Doeia," 
"Saveli's  Expiation,"  "Sonia,"  "The  Princess  Ognerol,"  "Bonne-Marie,"  etc. 


Markof,  The  Russian  Violinist.     A  Russian  Story.     By  Henry  Greville, 
authoi  of  "Doeia,"  "Saveli's  Expia.ion,"  "Sonia,"  "The  Princess  Ogherof,"  etc. 


Pretty   Little   Conntess   Zina.    A  Charming  Russian   Story.    By  Henry 
Greville,  author  of  "  Dosia,"  "  Saveli's  Expiation,"  "  Sonia,"  "  Bonne-Marie,"  etc. 


Dournof.    A  Russian   Story.     By  Henry  Gremlle,  author  of  "Dosia,"   "Saveli'i 
Expiation,"  "Sonu,"  "The  Princess  Oguerof,"  "Marrying  off  a  DaugUter,"  etc. 


Philomene'ii  Marriages.    A  Tale  of  French  Life  In  Normandy  and  Paris.    By 
Henry  Greville,  author  of  "  Dosia,"  •' Saveli's  Expiation,"  "Bonne-Marie,"  etc. 


Xenie's  Inheritance.    A  Tale  of  Russian  Life.    By  Henry  Grtrillr,  author  of 
"Doeia,"  "Saveli'i  Expiation,"  "Sonia,"  "The  Priucess  Ogherof,"  "Dournof,"  etc. 


Tania's  Peril ;  or,  The  Edge  of  an  Abyss.    A  Russian  Story.    By  Henry 
Greville,  author  of  "Dosia,"  "  Saveli's  Expiation,"  "Tbe  Princess  Ogherof,"  etc, 

Bonne-Marie.    A  Tale  of  Normandy  and  Paris.     By  Hmry  GrMttr,  author  of 
"Dosia,"  "Saveli's  Expiation,"  "Sonia,"  "The  Princess  Ogb  rof,"  "Douruol,"  etc. 

A   Friend.    A  Parisian  Society  Novel   of  the  Present  Day.     B'l  Henry  Grcrillr, 
author  of  "  Doeia,"  "  Saveli's  Expiation,"  "  Sonia,"  "  Marrying  off  a  Daughtei,"  etc. 


Sonia.     A  Russian  Love  Story.     By   Henry   Gr>'rill',  author  of  "  Dosia,"  "Saveli's 
Expiation,"  "  The  Princess  Ogherof,"  "  Bonne-Marie,"  "  The  Trials  of  Kuissa,"  etc. 


Uabrielle;  or.  The  House  of  Maureze.    By  Henry  Greville,  author  ot 
"Dosia,"  "Savcli's  Expiation,"  "Souia,"  "The  Prince.-s  Ogherof,"  "Dournof,"  etc. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter,  Page. 

I.   A  HORTICULTURAL  EXHIBITION 21 

II.   A  DETERMINED   WOMAN 36 

III.  PLAIN   WORDS 46 

IV.  AN    ARRIVAL 50 

V.   AWAKENING 64 

VI.   FIVE   YEARS   LATER 77 

VII.   EXPLANATIONS   AND   PARDON 83 

VIII.   A  GUARDIAN 104 

IX.   SOLICITATIONS 128 

X.   A   MINISTERIAL   HOLIDAY 132 

XI.   A   DINNER  PARTY 142 

XII.   THE   EQUINOCTIAL   STORM 155 

XIII.  LIFE   AT    THE    CHATEAU 169 

XIV.  STOPPING    TO   BREATHE 178 

XV.   THROWING  DOWN  THE   GAUNTLET 193 

XVI.   APPROVAL 203 

XVII.    AN   OVATION 207 


20  CONTENTS. 

Chapter.  Page. 

XVIII.  SPBINQ   IN  THE  COUNTRY 214 

XIX.  BOCKS  AHEAD 221 

XX.  "  ON  THE  TERRACE."    225 

XXI.  A  FRIEND  IN  NEED 232 

XXH.  GUST  ARRIVES 237 

XXIII.  SELF  KNOWLEDGE 243 

XXIV.  THE    END .  .                                                                 .  253 


GUY'S  MARRIAGE. 

BY    HENRY    GREVILLE 

AUTHOR  OF 

"SAYBLl'S    EXPIATION,"     "THE   PRINCESS    OGHKROF,"     "THE    TRIALS    OF  KAISSA," 

"  DOSIA,"   "DOURNOF,"    "  SONIA,"   ''XBNIA'S  INHERITANCE,"    "GABRIBLLB," 

"MARRYING  OFF  A  DAUGHTER,"    "A  FRIEND,"    "  BONNE  MARIE," 

"  THE   PRETTY   LITTLE  COUNTESS  ZINA,"    "  LUCIK   RODEY," 

"PHILOMENE'S  MARRIAGES,"  "SYLVIK'S  BETROTHED," 

"  TANIA'S  PERIL,"    "  MARKOF,"   BTC.,   ETC. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A     HORTICULTURAL     EXHIBITION. 

"  TT  is  thus,  gentlemen,  in  concentrating  our  efforts 
JL  that   we   cooperate  for  the  happiness   and  pros- 
perity of  our  glorious  France  !  " 

The  gentle  applause  of  good  society  which  so  much 
resembles  the  sound  of  rain  pattering  upon  the  leaves 
of  a  tree,  now  followed.  This  applause  was  accompa- 
nied by  discreet  bravos  :  then  less  quick  of  comprehen- 
sion, the  horticulturists  followed,  with  a  loud  clapping 
of  their  big  hands,  just  as  the  gloved  fingers  ceased  to 
manifest  their  approbation.  Then  these  last,  not 

(21) 


22  A    HORTICULTURAL    EXHIBITION. 

wishing  to  evince  less  warmth,  began  again,  and  the 
result  was  an  enthusiastic  salvo  from  all  together. 

The  orator  was  about  to  bow  as  actors  do  on  the 
stage,  but  he  suddenly  saw  that  this  would  be  ridicu- 
lous, and  taking  up  the  list  of  prizes  began  to  read 
in  his  deep,  rich  voice. 

"  I  congratulate  you,  my  dear,  your  husband  speaks 
extremely  well — as  well  as  he  talks.  He  is  the  stuff 
out  of  which  orators  are  made,  I  assure  you.  Is  his 
speech  an  impromptu  ?  " 

Madame  de  Dreux  was  a  little  embarrassed ;  a  slight 
color  rose  in  her  delicate  cheeks,  and  she  answered 
the  elderly  lady  who  addressed  her  with  some  little 
hesitation  : 

"  I  do  not  know — I  suppose — " 

"  Ah !  it  is  an  impromptu,  of  course.  It  is  very 
easy  to  see  that.  A  discourse  learned  by  heart,  could 
never  be  uttered  with  such  ease,  nor  in  a  tone  which 
is  both  dignified  and  gay.  Monsieur  de  Dreux  is 
certainly  highly  favored  by  Destiny!" 

"I  beg  leave  to  second  that  remark,"  said  a  tall 
young  man,  who  was  slightly  bald,  "he  is  a  happy 
husband,  a  happy  father,  and  the  happy  President  of 
the  Horticultural  Society  of  Reme"cy-Sur-Luise." 

Madame  de  Dreux  smiled,  and  her  face  cleared  of 
the  slight  cloud  which  had  rested  upon  it. 

"  Satirical,  as  usual,"  she  said,  "  but  your  raillery 
does  not  affect  me,  sir,  I  assure  you ! " 

"  I  should  be  extremely  unhappy,  Madame,  if  that 
were  the  case ;  I  could  not — " 


A    HORTICULTURAL     EXHIBITION.  23 

"Endure  to  hold  my  tongue  !"  concluded  the  lady, 
interrupting  him. 

They  all  laughed  and  a  loud  and  indignant  "Hush  !  " 
was  heard  from  an  inhabitant  of  Reme*cy-Sur-Luise 
who,  standing  on  a  chair,  had  made  an  ear-trumpet  of 
his  hand  in  order  to  catch  the  names  which  were  pro- 
nounced at  the  lower  end  of  the  tent,  and  now  turned 
toward  the  speakers  with  an  irritated  air.  His  round 
good-natured  face  changed  its  expression  as  soon  as 
he  saw  Madame  de  Dreux  ;  he  hastily  descended  from 
his  elevated  position  and  stammered  forth: 

"  Oh  !  Madame,  if  I  had  known  that  it  was  you — " 

The  lady  smiled  and  nodded  her  head  slightly,  while 
the  excellent  baker,  having  by  this  time  gotten  over 
the  fear  that  he  had  lost  a  good  customer,  again  placed 
his  hand  to  his  huge  ear,  but  with  a  certain  respectful 
deference  for  his  noble  neighbor ;  presently  he  dis- 
creetly retired,  feeling  that  his  place  was  not  among 
such  distinguished  people. 

"  You  are  the  Queen  of  this  district !  "  said  the  bald 
young  man. 

"  The  Queen  of  my  trades-people,  you  mean,"  an- 
swered Madame  de  Dreux.  "  But  I  beg  of  you,  sir, 
allow  me  to  hear  the  names  of  the  laureats — " 

"  You  know  them !  Are  you  not  in  the  secrets  of 
the  gods  ?  " 

"I?     By  no  means!" 

"  Does  not  your  husband  consult  you  in  his  deci- 
sions? Is  it  not  you  who  virtually  presides  at  the 
meetings  of  the  Horticultural  Society,  the  Temper- 


24  A    HORTICULTURAL    EXHIBITION. 

ance  Society,  of  the  Society  for  the  Cultivation  of 
Snails,  and,  in  fact,  of  all  the  Societies  of  which  your 
husband  is  more  or  less  the  President?" 

Madame  de  Dreux  made  a  little  negative  sign,  which 
if  tinged  with  haughtiness,  was  yet  extremely  polite. 
It  must  have  required  at  least  ten  generations  of  the 
best  educated  men  and  women  in  the  world  to  endow 
this  young  provincial  with  her  high-bred  air. 

Mullan  bowed  half  respectfully,  half  jestingly, 
which  was  his  usual  manner. 

"  It  is  a  great  pity,  Madame,"  he  began,  and  if  I 
had  the  honor — " 

A  quick  movement  made  by  the  lady  warned  him  to 
go  no  further;  he  continued,  however,  apparently 
without  making  a  change  in  what  he  had  intended 
to  say. 

"  — Of  having  within  my  reach  so  sage  a  counsellor, 
I  certainly  should  not  omit  consulting  her." 

Blanche  de  Dreux  turned  away  her  head,  and  at  the 
same  moment,  the  aged  Comtesse  Praxis,  who  sat  next 
her  said,  as  she  examined  the  scene  through  her  glass : 

"  Look,  my  dear  child,  they  are  offering  your 
husband  an  absolute  ovation !  " 

In  fact,  the  young  President  of  the  Horticultural 
Society  had  left  the  Tribune  and  was  slowly  advan- 
cing toward  them,  escorted  by  a  battalion  of  the  fortu- 
nate. He  stopped  occasionally  to  lean  over  the  flowers 
arid  fruits  artistically  grouped,  addressing  his  compan- 
ions with  flattering  words  at  the  same  time. 

"Does   he    not    look  like   a  Minister   distributing 


A.    HORTICULTURAL    EXHIBITION.  25 

crosses  ? "  said  Mullan,  not  to  the  younger  lady,  but 
to  the  Comtesse  Praxis,  who  was  by  no  means  inclined 
to  impose  silence  upon  him.  "He  is  trying  his  future 
mStier.  He  is  a  trifle  awkward,  to  be  sure ;  too  smil- 
ing, and  not  half  stiff  enough.  He  has  not  yet 
learned  the  way  of  tickling  the  self-love  of  the  Elec- 
tor without  wounding  that  of  the  step-father  and  the 
son-in-law  of  this  same  Elector — but  all  this  will  come, 
Comtesse,  will  it  not,  and  he  will  be  a  Deputy  in  good 
time  ?  Now  look  at  him  !  Just  see  the  grace  with 
which  he  drinks  in  the  odors  of  that  prize  melon. 
Ah !  that  is  just  what  I  was  afraid  of.  Malembre' 
offers  him  that  prize  melon.  He  is  a  good  fellow,  that 
Malembre',  but  very  much  wanting  in  tact.  Malembre 
can't  keep  that  melon  in  his  arms  much  longer,  for  it 
weighs  at  least  twenty  pounds.  What  on  earth  will 
he  do  with  it  ?  Good  Heavens !  he  has  laid  it  in  the 
hands  of  our  good  friend  de  Dreux  !  " 

The  Comtesse  laughed  heartily,  unable  to  restrain 
herself  longer. 

*'  Hush ! "  she  said,  as  soon  as  she  could  speak,  "you 
have  not  the  smallest  sentiment — " 

"  In  regard  to  what,  dear  Comtesse,  am  I  so  void  of 
sentiment?  Have  I  not  the  sentiment  of  friendship 
in  the  highest  degree  ?  God  be  praised !  we  can 
breathe  again,  and  De  Dreux,  also.  A  faithful  ser- 
vant, your  footman,  Madame,  has  carried  away  the 
melon.  Malerubre"  evidently  wishes  it  to  figure  in  the 
triumphal  procession  of  the  President  of  the  Horticul- 
tural Society.  De  Dreux  refuses,  Malembre*  insists ! 


26  A    HORTICULTURAL    EXHIBITION. 

It  is  all  right,  Madame,  you  will  find  the  melon  in 
your  carriage ! " 

"Mullan!"  said  the  Comtesse,  drying  her  eyes  in 
which  the  tears  stood  by  reason  of  her  hearty  laughter, 
"  I  forbid  you  to  say  another  word." 

"And  why,  dear  Comtesse?  Is.  not  laughter  the 
distinguishing  characteristic  of  man?  Now  look  at 
my  friend  De  Dreux  as  he  continues  his  official  prome- 
nade. Yes,  it  is  just  as  I  supposed.  Malembr6  took 
the  initiative,  and  now  you  will  see  the  result;  baskets 
of  fruit  are  being  heaped  up  at  the  feet  of  your 
husband,  Madame.  Unhappy  looking  apricots,  defect- 
ive peaches — pears — " 

*'  Tell  me,  why  do  you  always  laugh  at  my  hus- 
band?" said  Blanche  de  Dreux,  in  a  low  voice,  as  she 
made  a  little  hole  in  the  sand  with  her  umbrella.  "  Is 
it  to  give  me  pleasure?" 

Mullan  looked  steadfastly  into  the  blue  eyes  which 
sought  his  own :  they  were  not  absolutely  blue  eyes, 
after  all ;  they  were  of  a  soft  gray  with  violet  shad- 
ows, and  constantly  changing.  At  this  precise  moment 
they  were  steel  color,  cold  and  calm  as  that  metal.  The 
young  man  dropped  his  own. 

"  If  it  be  not  to  please  me,  why  should  you  try  to 
make  your  friend  ridiculous?" 

"  It  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  my  nature,  Mad- 
ame," answered  De  Mullan,  who  had  regained  his  self- 
possession.  "  You  have  steel  gray  eyes,  and  I — well, 
I  find  it  absolutely  necessary  to  laugh  at  my  neighbor." 

"  I  beg  of  you,  sir,  never  to  laugh  at  my  husband  in 
my  presence — it  wounds  my  dignity  and  my  affection." 


A    HORTICULTURAL     EXHIBITION.  27 

She  had  spoken  in  a  very  low  voice,  without  anger, 
without  any  affectation  of  haughtiness,  and  Mnllan 
felt  very  keenly  that  this  woman  could  never  have  any 
love  for  him.  She  had  drawn  with  the  point  of  her 
umbrella  a  small,  almost  imperceptible  line  on  the 
sand,  and  this  line  which  separated  them  was  the 
shadow  of  another  equally  delicate  but  more  impas- 
sable which  she  had  drawn  between  them. 

He  bowed  slightly,  the  place  admitting  of  no 
especial  expansion ;  but  this  commonplace  salutation 
placed  him  at  the  feet  of  Blanche. 

"  I  should  be  disconsolate  were  I  to  cause  you  the 
smallest  annoyance,"  he  said,  an  undertone  of  true 
repentance  piercing  his  simple  words. 

She  made  a  little  sign  with  her  head,  and  on  her 
lips  was  a  faint,  approving  smile.  Mullan  turned 
his  eyes  inward,  while  Blanche  addressed  her  com- 
panion, and  saw  that  his  love  for  her  was  rapidly  dying. 
Then  he  looked  at  Madame  de  Dreux  again,  who 
suddenly  seemed  separated  from  him  by  a  million 
terrestrial  atmospheres. 

"  What  a  fool  I  was  to  suppose  I  could  make  this 
woman  love  me ! "  he  said,  to  himself.  "  Does  one 
ever  try  to  melt  marble?-  My  poor  Mullan,  you  have 
enough  to  laugh  at  in  yourself  without  ridiculing 
others.  And  suppose  I  had  succeeded  in  making  her 
love  me?  What  should  I  have  gained?  Since  she 
has  fallen  into  De  Dreux'  hands,  let  him  keep  her.  If 
he  could  only  appreciate  her !  Suppose  he  had  heard 
what  I  said  just  now.  Pshaw !  he  would  not  have 


28  A    HORTICULTURAL    EXHIBITION. 

understood,  and  very  likely  would  have  been  pleased. 
Is  she  not  fulfilling  her  duty?" 

With  a  slight  shrug  of  his  shoulders  he  released 
himself  from  these  annoying  thoughts,  and  presenting 
his  arm  to  Madame  de  Dreux,  said,  in  an  indifferent 
tone,  "  Will  you  take  a  turn  through  the  Exposition  ?  " 

She  accepted  silently,  and  they  began  a  slow  pro- 
gress through  all  those  delights  known  as  a  Floral 
Exposition. 

The  vast  tent  protected  those  green-house  plants 
which  cannot  bear  the  coolness  of  the  night,  as  well  as 
the  velvet  gloxinias,  which  dread  the  heat  of  the  day. 
The  paths  of  hard,  dry  gravel  were  bordered  with 
lycopodeums  and  ferns — the  open  sides  of  the  tent 
displayed  an  admirable  mass  of  roses,  the  glory  and 
the  pride  of  careful  culture.  The  roses  glittered  in 
the  sunshine  like  precious  jewels.  In  the  centre  were 
the  deep  red,  looking  like  gigantic  rubies — pale,  faint- 
tinted  Malmaisons — amber-colored  Gloire  de  Dijon — 
and  soft,  yellow  Marshall  Niels  made  for  the  first  a 
fragrant  frame.  The  Exposition  of  Rame'cy-Sur-Luise 
was  indeed  very  beautiful,  but  fetes  lasting  only  a 
day  are  fully  appreciated  only  by  the  most  refined 
natures. 

Blanche  wandered  around  the  parterre,  her  hand 
lightly  resting  on  Mullan's  arm.  She  had  opened 
her  white  silk  parasol,  lined  with  rose  color,  which 
imparted  a  soft  glow  to  her  complexion,  generally  too 
pale.  She  dreamed  as  she  went,  lulled  by  a  distant 
melody,  by  the  perfume  of  the  flowers  and  the 


A    HORTICULTURAL     EXHIBITION.  29 

mere  pleasure  of  existence,  but  the  melody  was  a 
sad  one. 

"  Do  you  wish  to  hear  a  harsh  truth  ?  "  said  Mullan, 
suddenly.  "  Do  you  know  that  it  is  on  your  hus- 
band's arm  that  you  ought  to  be  to-day,  and  not  on 
mine?" 

A  burning  blush  inundated  the  face  of  his  com- 
panion. Even  her  shell-like  ears  were  suffused. 

"  You  are  right,"  she  answered,  "  take  me  back  to 
the  tent." 

He  obeyed,  asking  himself  why  he  had  spoken,  but 
on  the  whole  pleased  that  he  had  done  so,  as  he  had  a 
feeling  that  his  frankness  had  reinstated  him  in  the 
opinion  of  this  honest,  simple-hearted  woman. 

"  But  what  difference  does  that  make  ?  "  he  said  to 
himself.  "  You  know  very  well,  simpleton,  that  you 
have  no  desire  to  win  her  heart." 

A  displeasing  vision  flashed  into  Mullan's  mind.  He 
remembered  old  forgotten  troubles — a  sulky,  ill-tem- 
pered woman,  who  never  indulged  in  the  softening 
influence  of  tears — a  man  who,  bored  to  death,  had 
not  a  word  to  say;  and  he  thrust  from  him  these 
recollections  so  unsuited  to  the  presence  of  the  lovely 
creature  on  his  arm. 

"  It  is  always  the  way ! "  was  the  next  thought  of 
this  man  of  the  world,  and  he  felt  half  inclined  to 
fold  a  protecting  arm  around  Blanche  as  mothers 
envelop  their  infants  when  they  hear  of  the  misfor- 
tunes of  other  children. 

Suddenly   he    adjusted    his    eyeglass,   and    looked 


30  A     HORTICULTURAL     EXHIBITION. 

around.  Repressing  an  exclamation  of  annoyance,  he 
turned  into  a  less  frequented  avenue. 

"But  my  husband  is  not  there,"  objected  Madame 
de  Dreux. 

"  No — just  at  present  he  is  doing  the  honors  of  the 
Exposition  to  a  belle  dame,  who  has  come  from  Paris 
for  the  occasion,  at  least  I  believe  so." 

Blanche  extended  her  white  throat,  and  saw  her 
husband  with  a  lady  who  seemed  to  be  about  thirty- 
five,  who  laughed  a  great  deal,  and  showed  very  hand- 
some white  teeth.  She  was  tall,  well  dressed,  and 
entirely  at  her  ease. 

"  I  do  not  know  her,"  said  Madame  de  Dreux.  "  I 
wish  these  ceremonies  were  over,  for  I  have  a  very  bad 
headache,  and  I  long  for  the  cool  dark  rooms  of  the 
ch&teau.  Oh !  if  I  were  only  there  !  " 

"Shall  I  order  your  carriage?"  asked  Mullan. 

"  I  do  not  think  it  is  here  yet.  I  sent  it  back  for 
my  son.  I  do  not  know  either  if  my  husband  is  yet 
ready  to  go." 

"  Dear  Madame,"  said  her  companion,  "  listen  to  the 
advice  of  a  disinterested  friend :  The  sooner  you 
accustom  yourself  to  go  home  from  any  and  all  enter- 
tainments, at  any  hour  most  agreeable  to  yourself,  the 
better,  otherwise  I  shall  find  you  some  fine  day,  about 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  an  utterly  exhausted 
condition,  waiting  in  a  door-way,  while  my  amiable 
and  charming  friend  lounges  in  the  smoking-room,  or 
chats  over  the  supper  table.  The  sooner  you  accus- 
tom him  to  a  certain  amount  of  independence  on  your 


A    HORTICULTURAL     EXHIBITION.  31 

part,  the  better  for  you — perhaps  he  will  not  even  per- 
ceive the  change  if  you  make  it  gradually." 

Blanche  did  not  reply.  The  sad  echoes  in  her  heart 
repeated  these  words,  and  she  found  them  very  bitter. 
Was  this  true?  Was  it  really  necessary  to  give  up 
the  blind  and  mute  submission  which  she  had  always 
shown  him.  Could  it  be  possible  that  her  husband 
was  unconscious  of  this  devotion,  not  merely  to  his 
wishes  but  to  his  caprices?  A  devotion  which  had  cost 
her  nothing  since  it  made  a  portion  of  her  love. 

"  Kindly  see  if  my  carriage  is  there,"  she  said, 
abruptly,  dropping  his  arm. 

Mullan,  Without  replying,  went  toward  the  gate. 
The  large  caleche,  with  armorial  bearings  on  the  pan- 
nels,  occupied  the  most  conspicuous  place  in  the  front 
row.  Its  sole  occupant  was  a  pompous  looking  nurse, 
wearing  a  cap  trimmed  with  a  fluted  border  of  fine 
Valenciennes,  ornamented  with  clusters  of  narrow  rib- 
bons, the  family  colors,  as  were  the  cockades  worn  by 
the  horses.  On  the  knees  of  the  nurse  lay  a  bundle  of 
fine  embroideries — these  embroideries  enveloping  the 
heir  of  the  De  Dreux  house,  who  was  sleeping  peace- 
fully in  the  shadows  of  the  tall  elm  trees  bordering 
the  road. 

The  young  man  made  a  sign,  and  while  the  caleche 
came  up  to  the  gate,  he  went  back  for  Blanche,  who 
was  talking  with  her  friend,  Madame  Praxis. 

"Allow  me  to  put  you  in  your  carriage,"  said  Mul- 
lan, with  an  air  of  careless  courtesy. 

Without  replying,  Blanche  took  the  arm  he  offered, 
said  adieu  to  her  friend,  and  went  toward  the  gate. 


32  A    HORTICULTURAL     EXHIBITION. 

"  Have  you  many  people  to  dinner  ?  "  asked  Mullan. 

"  Yes,  a  great  many.     Are  you  coming?  " 

"  If  you  condescend  to  ask  me." 

"  I  thought  my  husband  had  already  asked  you  ?  " 

"  So  he  has,  but  I  prefer  to  be  invited  by  you." 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  you  are  becoming  very  cere- 
monious," said  Blanche,  with  a  certain  sharpness  in 
her  voice.  She  was  intensely  irritated  with  every- 
thing and  everybody,  even  herself. 

"  Pray  Madame,  attribute  this  hesitation  only  to  the 
great  fear  I  have  of  displeasing  you." 

"  You  were  not  so  cautious  an  hour  ago,"  answered 
Blanche,  hastily. 

"An  hour  ago  I  had,  perhaps,  less  need  of  your 
esteem  and  of  my  own,  Madame,"  answered  Mullan, 
looking  straight  before  him.  "  Please  imagine  that 
path,  winding  among  the  roses,  to  have  been  my  road 
from  Damascus,  and  kindly  forget  the  follies  which  I 
have  committed  toward  you,  and  see  in  me  only,  for 
the  future,  the  most  devoted  friend  and  servant." 

He  terminated  this  singular  harangue  with  a  pro- 
found bow,  just  as  Blanche  placed  her  dainty  slipper 
on  the  step  of  the  carriage.  The  footman  leaped  to 
the  side  of  the  coachman,  the  crowd  separated,  hats 
were  lifted,  and  the  great  horses,  holding  their  berib- 
boned  heads  high  and  champing  their  bits,  dashed  off. 
Madame  de  Dreux  bowed  to  the  right  and  to  the  left 
like  a  queen  amid  her  subjects.  The  carriage  took  its 
rapid  way  toward  a  chateau  standing  not  very  far 
away,  on  the  shores  of  the  Luise. 


A    HORTICULTURAL    EXHIBITION.  33 

As  Mullan  went  back  to  the  tent,  he  met  his  friend 
de  Dreux — alone  this  time — that  is,  if  a  man  may  be 
called  alone  to  whom  twenty  people  come  up  to  speak 
one  after  the  other.  The  lady  with  whom  he  had  been 
walking  had  disappeared  among  the  crowd,  which  a 
special  train  brought  from  Paris  every  year  to  this  fete. 

"  And  where  is  my  wife  ?  "  said  Guy  de  Dreux,  to 
Mullan. 

"  She  has  just  gone,"  answered  that  gentleman,  with 
an  air  of  artless  satisfaction. 

"  Gone !     How  ?     Alone  ?     On  foot  ?  " 

"  By  no  means.  She  went  in .  her  very  handsome 
carriage — escorted  by  your  son  and  his  superb  nurse." 

"  She  went  in  the  caleche  f  And  pray — how  am  I 
to  get  home  ?" 

" To  be  sure!  How  are  you  to  get  home?  On  foot 
I  imagine." 

"  On  foot.  On  a  day  like  this !  "  answered  Guy,  in 
a  much  disgusted  tone.  "What  on  earth  got  into 
Blanche ;  she  is  generally  so  thoughtful.  She  ought 
to  have  sent  to  ask — " 

"Permission?  I  assure  you  she  thought  of  doing 
so,  but  you  were  at  the  moment  walking  with  such  a 
beautiful  woman,  that — 

Guy  shrugged  his  shoulders  in  a  vexed  way. 

"She  had  no  need  to  come  here,"  he  murmured. 
"  I  don't  know  what  the  devil  sent  her — " 

"  Your  wife,  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  No,   no, — not  my  wife.     Mullan,  I  really  believe 
you  are  laughing  at  me !  " 
2 


34  A    HORTICULTURAL    EXHIBITION. 

"Certainly  I  am.  And  in  doing  so,  give  the  best 
possible  proof  of  the  affection  I  feel  for  you;  for  I 
assure  you  that  I  don't  take  the  trouble  to  laugh  at 
everybody ! " 

De  Dreux  meditated  a  moment,  and  then  said  sadly: 

"  Don't  you  see  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  go  home 
on  foot,  through  all  this  dust — and  it  makes  me  appear 
very  ridiculous  beside.  By  the  way,  was  the  melon  in 
the  carriage?" 

"  I  do  not  think  it  was ;  I  did  not  see  it." 

"And  those  horticulturists  who  took  the  prizes, 
whom  I  have  invited  to  dinner — what  will  they  think 
if  the  melon  does  not  appear  ?  " 

"Malembre*  will  never  forgive  you,  and  when  you 
are  nominated  you  will  not  have  his  vote." 

"  Nominated  for  what  ?  "  asked  Guy,  with  an  air  of 
astonishment. 

"  It  does  not  matter  what,  but  we  will  say  Deputy, 
if  that  suits  you." 

"What  nonsense!"  answered  de  Dreux.  "Deputy, 
indeed !  But  these  provincials  are  absurd — if  their 
fruit  is  not  praised  all  during  dinner,  we  shall  have 
a  standing  quarrel  with  the  whole  town." 

"Then,"  said  Mullan,  "I  offer  you  my  modest 
equipage,  my  bachelor  tilbury,  your  wife  having  asked 
me  to  meet  M.  Malembre*.  And  as  my  generosity  is 
absolutely  limitless,  I  will  also  carry  the  melon,  and 
everybody  will  be  pleased." 

Monsieur  de  Dreux  was  about  to  reply  in  words 
which  might  not  have  been  altogether  agreeable  to  his 


A    HORTICULTURAL    EXHIBITION.  35 

langhing  friend,  when  his  face  suddenly  cleared,  for  at 
the  extremity  of  the  long  avenue,  ho  beheld  a  carriage 
coming  toward  him  as  fast  as  possible.  He  watched  it 
with  the  air  of  the  proprietor. 

"  Good  child  !  "  he  murmured,  "  Blanche  has  thought 
of  sending  back  the  carriage  !  " 

"  Upon  my  word ! "  thought  Mullan,  "  you  are 
exactly  like  a  horse  that  must  be  beaten  to  make 
him  leap.  Leap !  my  friend,  leap ;  marriage  is  a  suc- 
cession of  five-barred  fences,  and  I  can  not  always  be 
near  you  to  use  the  whip  at  the  right  moment. 


36  A    DETERMINED    WOMAN. 


CHAPTER    II. 

A    DETERMINED    WOMAN. 

dinner  was  splendid.  All  the  delights  of  a 
J  repast  ordered  from  Chevet,  to  which  the  chef  of 
the  chateau  had  disdained  to  add  any  finishing  touches. 
This  last  individual  liked  to  work  only  for  apprecia- 
tive persons,  for  those  who  could  understand  him,  and 
as  to  Malembre"  and  the  other  heroes  of  the  day,  he 
said,  "  the  dinner  from  Chevet  is  quite  good  enough 
for  them." 

Madame  de  Dreux  presided  with  calm  grace  ;  if  she 
felt  no  enthusiasm,  she  at  least  showed  no  ennui. 
These  most  excellent  people  in  their  pride  at  sitting  at 
this  table,  and  in  their  wish  to  be  agreeable,  certainly 
said  some  very  strange  things.  They  might  have  been 
amusing,  if  they  h£fd  allowed  themselves  to  be  natural, 
but  this  they  dared  not  be. 

All  the  horticulturists  who  had  taken  prizes  were 
not  from  Malembre".  There  were  two  who  lived  near 
by,  and  who  had  devoted  to  the  culture  of  roses  the 
end  of  hard  worked  lives ;  one  of  them,  a  retired  pro- 
fessor from  a  large  school  in  Paris,  the  other  a  captain 
of  engineers,  who  had  been  compelled  by  gout — which 
he  insisted  on  calling  rheumatism — to  renounce  all 
active  exertion  except  that  of  horticulture,  which  he 


A    DETERMINED    WOMAN.  37 

could  direct  from  a  seat  under  a  tree  in  his  garden, 
and  to  whom  his  roses  were  his  only  delight. 

These  two  cultivated  and  intellectual  men,  both 
worshipped  their  young  hostess,  and  cherished  for  each 
other  a  certain  mild  jealousy  which  they  manifested 
by  an  innocent  rivalry  of  little  attentions  and  super- 
annuated madrigals. 

Blanche  had  long  since  forbidden  Mullan  to  indulge 
in  any  jests  upon  these  excellent  old  men,  whom  he 
insisted  on  calling  "her  china  dogs,"  because  of  their 
tiny  houses  which  stood  opposite  each  other  with  the 
narrow  valley  of  the  Luise  between  them.  A  woman 
of  twenty-two  can  preside  even  at  an  official  dinner 
without  fatigue  ;  generally,  too,  Blanche  found  consid- 
erable amusement  in  such  ceremonies,  but  on  the 
evening  of  which  we  write  she  was  a  little  sad  without 
well  knowing  why. 

The  wives  of  these  gentlemen  had  been,  rigorously 
excluded  from  the  invitation,  and  the  Countess  Praxis, 
who  knew  every  human  being  in  Rame'cy,  and  also 
within  a  radius  of  five  leagues,  was  the  only  lady  who 
shared  the  duties  of  that  long  dinner  with  the  hostess. 

Mullan  was  witty,  Guy  de  Dreux  was  amiable.  The 
Comtesse  had  a  gracious  word  for  every  one  in  turn ; 
the  table  was  brilliant  with  its  cut  glass  and  old  silver, 
and  made  still  more- charming  by  the  baskets  of  flowers 
sent  from  the  Exposition. 

What  was  lacking  to  gratify  the  eyes,  the  mind  and 
the  vanity  of  Blanche  ?  She  could  not  have  answered 
this  question,  but  she  was  well  aware  that  she  rose 
from  the  table  with  great  satisfaction. 


38  A    DETERMINED    WOMAN. 

Leaving  Madame  Praxis  to  do  the  honors  of  the 
salon,  she  herself  took  refuge  in  the  cool  and  perfumed 
boudoir,  in  which  she  spent  much  of  her  time ;  two 
caudles  only  were  lighted  on  the  mantel ;  it  was  not 
intended  that  her  guests  generally  should  find  their 
way  there.  She  uttered  a  long  sigh — was  it  one  of 
sadness  or  of  relief?  She  could  not  have  told  herself, 
had  any  one  asked.  She  threw  herself  into  an  arm- 
chair, but  hardly  was  she  seated  than,  she  rose  again, 
and  ringing  the  bell,  stood  waiting. 

"  Go  and  see  how  my  son  is,"  she  said  to  the  servant 
who  appeared. 

The  reply  came  back  immediately : 

"  The  young  master  was  well,  and  sleeping 
soundly." 

She  dismissed  the  servant,  and  went  to  the  win- 
dow, where  she  seated  herself. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  me?"  she  said  to  herself, 
leaning  her  head  on  her  hands  with  the  sad  face  of  one 
who  realizes  her  unhappiness  but  is  unable  to  define  it. 
"  Am  I  ill  ?  Am  I  crazy  ?  Why  am  I  so  miserable 
to-night?" 

Tears  stood  in  her  eyes ;  she  closed  them,  and  pre- 
vented them  from  dropping,  while  she  resolutely 
examined  her  present  and  her  past,  to  discover  the 
cause  of  her  sorrow. 

An  orphan  from  her  cradle,  she  had  been  educated 
in  an  excellent  school  where  her  fortune  and  her  name 
assured  her  every  consideration,  and  where  her  affec- 
tionate disposition  had  won  all  hearts.  When  her 


A    DETERMINED     WOMAN.  39 

education  was  completed  she  went  to  the  house  of  her 
guardian,  Monsieur  Grosmont. 

That  gentleman  had  for  a  wife  a  being  who  might 
have  been  especially  created  by  Providence  for  the 
difficult  role  which  she  was  called  upon  to  play.  Gen- 
tle and  inoffensive,  she  was  quite  willing  to  take  off 
her  dress  and  remain  quietly  at  home  when  some 
unexpected  accident  had  prevented  her  going  to  a  ball 
— or  she  was  equally  willing  to  go  and  stay  until  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning. 

She  was  never  much  amused  anywhere,  but  no  one 
had  ever  heard  her  complain  of  ennui.  She  was  a 
model  chaperon,  with  excellent  manners,  superior  edu- 
cation and  an  amiable  disposition.  If  the  rich  treas- 
ures of  the  young  girl's  heart  were  never  called  forth 
by  that  lady,  she  at  least  never  gave  Blanche  the 
smallest  annoyance. 

There  were  two  years  of  this  happy  life  —  social 
amusements  in  the  best  circles,  a  pleasant  home  among 
well-bred  and  cultivated  people ;  then  came  the  expec- 
tation of  marrying  some  man  who  would  bring  her  in 
exchange  for  her  beauty  and  her  dowry — rank  and 
position — all  this  was  only  natural. 

Two  years,  as  we  have  said,  had  elapsed,  when  one 
evening — and  as  Blanche  thought  of  that  evening  her 
color  rose — when  she  was  at  the  house  of  an  elderly 
lady,  whose  quiet  soirees  ended  at  eleven,  she  met 
Guy  de  Dreux. 

No  one  had  mentioned  Guy  de  Dreux  to  her  as  a 
desirable  partner.  He  was  not  rich  enough,  conspicu- 


40  A    DETERMINED    WOMAN. 

ous  enough,  nor  was  he  what  is  called  "  settled 
down." 

The  friends  of  this  young  girl  expected  her  to  make 
a  brilliant  match — she  was  to  marry,  if  not  a  Prince, 
at  least  a  Minister  or  an  Ambassador  to  some  brilliant 
court;  never  once  did  they  imagine  that  she  would 
marry  a  man  without  either  position  or  fortune. 
What  was  Guy's  small  income,  fifteen  or  twenty  thou- 
sand francs  only,  compared  to  the  two  hundred  thou- 
sand of  which  Blanche  was  the  happy  possessor. 

And  yet,  when  the  eyes  of  the  young  heiress  met 
those  of  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  she  felt  a  strange  and 
new  emotion. 

"It  is  he  whom  I  will  love,"  she  said  to  herself, 
"  and  I  can  never  marry  any  other  man  than  he  who 
has  made  this  great  impression  upon  me  to-night !  " 

She  went  home  in  a  state  of  bewilderment,  in  which 
she  hardly  recognized  herself. 

Guy  had  not  the  smallest  idea  of  the  effect  he  had 
produced.  He,  as  usual,  contented  himself  with  look- 
ing handsome. 

The  events  of  our  story  occurred  at  a  period  when 
the  personal  beauty  of  men  was  of  great  importance. 
Nowadays,  we  think  far  less  of  this  possession,  or  at 
all  events,  we  feign  to  attach  less  importance  to  it,  but 
there  was  a  time  when  a  handsome  man  was  much 
more  sought  after  than  an  ugly  one,  although  the 
latter  might  be  intellectually  far  his  superior, — this 
was  a  relic  of  the  past,  of  which  our  equalizing  cen- 
tury has  done  its  best  to  rid  itself. 


A    DETERMINED    WOMAN.  41 

Guy  de  Dreux  was  wonderfully  handsome,  manly 
and  refined ;  his  features,  almost  classic  in  their  regu- 
larity, deserved  to  be  cut  in  marble  as  the  personifica- 
tion of  that  French  race  which  too  rarely  gives  us  a 
perfect  specimen  —  but  occasionally  produces  an 
admirable  example. 

He  was  not  especially  proud  of  this  superiority,  for 
men  pretended  not  to  notice  it,  and  women  only 
spoke  of  it  among  themselves;  he  therefore  had  not 
been  spoiled. 

He  was  twenty-eight,  and  lived  only  for  himself. 
Ambition  was  awakened  later,  and  with  it  came  a  per- 
ception of  the  means  he  should  adopt  for  its  indul- 
gence— but  when  Blanche  first  saw  him — he  simply 
wished  to  amuse  himself. 

He  possessed  one  great  gift,  however,  that  of  speech. 
He  conversed  charmingly,  knew  all  that  was  going  on, 
and  told  an  anecdote  with  great  cleverness.  All 
dowagers  adored  him,  but  as  yet  he  had  obtained  none 
of  those  successes  which  make  a  man  socially  con- 
spicuous, and  gives  him  many  enemies — but  are  not 
enemies  the  invariable  accompaniment  of  glory? 

Guy  was  included  in  Madame  de  Grosmont's  visit- 
ing list,  and  Blanche  was  therefore  enabled  to  observe 
him  at  her  ease,  without  attracting  observation. 

She  was  disillusionized.  The  young  man's  conver- 
sation held  her  enthralled  for  some  time — long  enough 
for  the  eyes  of  Madame  de  Grosmont  to  be  fixed  upon 
her  with  vague  reproach. 

But  in  this  brief  moment  the  young  girl's  fate  was 


42  A     DETERMINED    WOMAN. 

decided.  Guy  seemed  to  her  altogether  perfect,  and 
she  cared  little  what  the  rest  of  the  world  thought. 
She  loved  Guy  with  all  her  heart,  but  perhaps  still 
more  with  all  her  eyes.  Not  until  a  woman  is  thirty 
does  she  love  with  her  soul ;  at  eighteen  she  is  carried 
away  by  appearances — they  do  not  choose,  they  yield. 
Their  motto  is  that  of  the  ivy,  "  I  die  where  I  cling." 

Blanche  was  like  this.  When  Guy's  hand  touched 
hers  in  the  contre-dance,  she  shivered  from  head  to 
foot.  This  man  should  be  her  husband. 

Guy  was  no  coxcomb,  but  a  man  of  twenty-eight  is 
not  long  in  discovering  that  he  pleases  a  pretty  girl. 

Blanche,  artless  as  she  was,  had  enough  of  the 
coquetry,  common  to  women,  to  make  the  young  man 
madly  in  love,  and  at  the  same  time  persuade  him  that 
he  was  without  hope. 

When  he  was  utterly  desperate,  and  in  the  fashion 
of  the  day  alluded  to  his  departure  for  Algeria  and 
the  army,  she  went  to  her  tutor: 

"  Monsieur  de  Dreux  loves  me,"  she  said,  "  and  I 
love  him.  I  should  be  very  glad  if  you  would  give 
your  consent  to  this  marriage." 

Monsieur  de  Grosmont  tumbled  down  from  the 
clouds.  He  had  never  noticed  the  young  man  ;  he 
was  too  insignificant  to  attract  his  attention ;  he 
belonged  to  no  ministry,  he  had  no  stable,  and  no 
political  influence. 

"Had  Blanche  lost  her  senses?"  he  asked.  "How 
could  she  attach  herself  to  a  man  so  totally  without 
merit?" 


A    DETERMINED    WOMAN.  43 

"But  he  has  merit,"  answered  the  young  girl,  "and 
besides,  that  is  my  own  affair.  I  merely  wish  you  to 
inform  yourself  and  me,  my  dear  guardian,  if  he  is,  as 
I  believe  and  hope,  a  man  of  strict  honor.  A  blemish 
on  his  reputation  would  be  the  only  obstacle  to  the 
execution  of  my  project." 

No  one  could  say  a  word  against  Guy,  this  fact  Mon- 
sieur de  Grosmont  was  obliged  to  admit  with  profound 
regret.  Some  days  later  Monsieur  de  Dreux  asked 
the  hand  of  Mademoiselle  de  Saulx,  which  was  granted 
by  her  guardian  with  a  profound  sigh,  he  thus  fulfill- 
ing his  duty  to  the  very  end. 

When  the  report  of  the  marriage  was  heard  in 
society,  the  young  fiance'e  received  a  bewildering  suc- 
cession of  visits. 

"  My  dear  child  ! "  said  the  prudent  mothers,  who 
thought  more  highly  of  a  well-filled  purse  than  of  any 
Antinous  in  the  world,  "  My  dear  child,  you  should 
have  done  better  than  this." 

The  Comtesse  Praxis,  who  had  been  a  beauty,  and 
who  loved  beautiful  things  of  all  kinds,  was  the  only 
one  to  defend  the  choice  of  the  young  girl. 

"  Upon  my  word  ! "  she  said  to  two  or  three  of  the 
most  bitter,  who  took  advantage  of  the  absence  of 
Blanche  to  pick  her  and  her  lover  to  bits.  "  Upon 
my  word !  one  would  think  she  had  robbed  you  of 
something ! " 

Such  an  energetic  defender  silenced  malevolent 
tongues  for  the  moment,  though  later  they  made 
ample  amends  to  themselves. 


44  A    DETERMINED    WOMAN. 

Blanche  went  to  the  altar  surrounded  with  almost 
royal  pomp,  with  the  pride  of  a  fiance'e  who  bears 
priceless  treasures  to  her  lover,  and  with  the  humility 
of  a  woman  who  fears  her  own  un  worthiness,  and  feels 
that  she  merits  not  the  love  of  him  whom  she  thinks 
superior  to  all  else  in  the  world. 

The  first  months  of  her  marriage  were  to  Blanche  a 
perfect  dream  of  bliss.  It  seemed  to  her  that  the  day 
must  come  when  she  would  awake  to  reality  and  find 
that  Guy  was  not  her  husband. 

Guy  was  the  first  and  the  last  thought  of  this  ingen- 
uous nature ;  she  clothed  him  with  all  the  perfections 
which  she  wished  him  to  have,  she  made  him  in  her 
eyes  a  being  above  the  rest  of  mankind.  And  as  she 
spoke  to  no  one  of  her  thoughts  and  feelings,  she 
encountered  no  detractors  of  her  dear  idol. 

Monsieur  de  Dreux,  still  dazzled  by  the  change  in 
his  life,  not  only  allowed  himself  to  be  loved,  but 
being  an  amiable  person,  and  grateful  to  a  certain 
degree  to  the  fairy  who  lavished  so  much  upon  him, 
was  attentive  and  tender,  all  the  more  so  because  he 
was  really  in  love  with  his  wife. 

Their  honeymoon,  therefore,  disappointed  all  the 
sinister  prophets  of  evil,  who  would  have  liked  to  see 
discord  reign  in  this  youthful  m€nag&. 

Blanche  had  her  brief  hour  of  triumph — the  first 
year  of  her  marriage  was  enchantment;  the  second 
brought  her  a  new  joy,  a  new  pride ;  she  had  a  son. 
The  birth  of  this  child  was  to  her  a  solemn  event. 
Deprived  herself  of  a  parent's  love,  she  felt  an  impera- 


A    DETERMINED    WOMAN.  45 

tive  need  to  lavish  on  her  child  all  that  tenderness 
which  she  herself  had  never  known. 

Unfortunately  she  could  not  nurse  him,  and  it  hurt 
her  sorely  to  trust  him  to  any  one  but  herself.  But  as 
the  health  of  the  infant  demanded  this  sacrifice,  she 
resigned  herself  to  it  all  the  more  that  her  husband 
from  the  beginning  had  not  encouraged  her  nursing 
the  boy,  although  he  had  himself  placed  no  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  her  doing  so.  Edward  was  now  three 
months  old,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful  children  in 
the  world.  Blanche  had  regained  all  her  beauty  and 
her  health.  Having  reached  this  point  in  her  reflec- 
tions she  stopped,  refusing  to  go  further  at  that  time, 
for  her  guests  must  be  wondering  at  her  absence.  She 
started  up,  and  passing  her  handkerchief  lightly  over 
her  face,  was  surprised  to  find  that  she  had  been 
weeping. 

She  went  to  the  mirror,  saw  that  her  cheeks  were 
burning  and  that  her  eyes  were  full  of  tears. 

"  I  must  be  ill,"  she  said  to  herself,  as  she  arranged 
her  hair,  and  the  lace  about  her  throat.  "I  must 
consult  the  doctor." 

On  her  way  to  the  salon  she  stopped  short. 

"Who  was  that  woman  with  my  husband?"  she 
said  to  herself.  "  She  was  not  beautiful." 

This  was  but  a  passing  thought,  and  she  moved  on 
at  once.  She  entered  the  salon,  full  of  lights  and 
people,  and  there  was  no  more  time  for  thought. 


46  PLAIN    WORDS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

PLAIN     WORDS. 

GUY  was  in  the  smoking-room,  horribly  ennuye"d 
by  a  lecture  he  was  receiving  from  his  friend 
Mullan.  The  guests  had  deserted  that  room  to  crowd 
around  the  mistress  of  the  house,  for  what  was  the 
good  of  dining  at  the  chateau  if  they  could  not  relate 
all  that  the  chatelaine  had  done  and  said.  These  gen- 
tlemen well  knew  that  their  wives  would  not  spare 
them  the  position  of  a  pin,  and  in  order  to  avoid  the 
reproaches  they  anticipated,  they  applied  themselves 
to  a  minute  examination  of  the  ribbons,  pearls  and 
laces  worn  by  Madame  de  Dreux,  as  well  as  to  the 
details  of  the  furniture  of  the  chateau.  The  descrip- 
tion of  the  latter  was  certain  to  be  a  task  of  difficulty, 
by  reason  of  their  scanty  knowledge  of  technical 
terms. 

Fatigued  by  his  duties  as  amphytryon,  and  still 
more  fatigued  by  fine  speeches,  which  since  the  morn- 
ing he  had  lavished  on  all  sides,  Guy  had  thrown 
himself  at  full  length  on  the  divan. 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  said  Mullan,  "  I  cannot  under- 
stand your  conduct;  it  is  unpardonable  and  unjusti- 
fiable !  " 

"  Those  are  very  long  words ! "  said  De  Dreux, 
wearily. 


PLAIN    WORDS.  4< 

"Not  at  all;  I  abhor  long  words,  as  you  know  per- 
fectly well.  But  surely  you  will  admit  that  on  a  day 
like  this,  the  day  of  a  village  fete,  whose  every  inci- 
dent will  remain  in  the  memories  of  these  provincials, 
as  well  as  every  word  and  gesture  of  yours,  was  hardly 
the  time  to  walk  about  with  that  woman — Madame 
Lopez !  " 

"  You  are  mad !  "  cried  De  Dreux,  raising  himself  to 
a  sitting  posture. 

"  Do  you  mean  that  I  am  lacking  in  respect  toward 
her?  She  always  was  like  a  horse  to  me,  with  her 
wide  nose  and  long  white  teeth.  But  this  is  not  the 
question — I  merely  wish  to  ask  you,- if  it  is  not  in  bad 
taste  to  appear  in  public  with  that  woman  on  your  arm, 

and  allow  Madame  de  Dreux  to  be  seen  with  me?  " 

% 

Compelled  to  reply,  Guy  exclaimed  in  a  sulky  tone  : 

"Ah!  my  friend,  how  could  I  help  it?  Were  there 
not  certain  conditions  made  at  the  time  of  our  rup- 
ture?" 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  allowed  her  to  make  con- 
ditions? Do  you  imagine  that  your  wife  would 
approve  of  that?" 

"I  trust,  Mullan,  that  you  did  not  awaken  her  sus- 
picions ;  of  course  she  has  no  idea  that  Madame 
Lopez — " 

"  She  has  no  idea  of  anything,"  answered  Mullan, 
"  only  she  was  very  sad,  and  I  think  she  is  still." 

Guy  smiled  with  an  air  of  self-satisfaction. 

"  Ah !  That  is  of  no  consequence ;  she  will  be  all 
right  soon." 


48  PLAIX    WORDS. 

"As  soon  as  you  return  to  your  conjugal  shackles," 
said  Mullan,  sarcastically.  "  You  are  right.  Only  let 
me  advise  you  not  to  leave  them  again." 

"  Upon  my  word !  Mullan,  I  am  out  of  all  patience 
with  you,  to-day,"  cried  Guy,  now  starting  to  his  feet. 
"  What  on  earth  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  " 

"  It  is  only  that  I  have  an  attack  of  goodness," 
answered  the  young  man. 

"And  are  such  attacks  common  with  you?" 

"Up  to  this  time  I  should  say  not;  but,  after  a 
while,  I  trust  it  will  be  my  normal  condition." 

"  Then  I  am  afraid  your  normal  condition  will  be 
a  stupid  one.  Come,  now,  and  let  us  face  these  good 
villagers  once  more. 

Mullan  stopped  his  friend  as  he  reached  the  door.  "  By 
the  way,  did  you  commit  your  speech  to  memory?" 

"  Zounds !  man — " 

"  Did  you  write  it  yourself?  " 

"  Whom  else  was  likely  to  do  so  ?  " 

"  That  is  very  true.  It  was  not  good  enough  to  be 
attributed  to  any  one  but  you." 

"  You  mean  then,  that  my  speech  was  not  good?" 

"None  too  good.  It  was  inflated,  pompous  and 
hollow.  There  were  phrases  but  no  ideas,  and  even 
the  phrases  were  such  as  have  been  heard  forever.  I 
know  very  well  that  these  people  down  here  like  such 
speeches,  but  in  composing  yours  you  ought  to  have 
thought  that  you  might  have  one  person  of  cultiva- 
tion, myself,  for  example,  among  your  audience." 

Guy,  who  was  rapidly  losing  his  temper,  turned 
around  as  he  reached  the  threshold. 


PLAIN    WORDS.  49 

"It  was  not  my  fault,"  he  said,  "I  could  find 
nothing  better !  " 

"  Which  is  precisely  what  I  thought,"  Mullan  was 
on  the  point  of  saying,  but  he  restrained  himself. 
Why  should  he  fret  his  friend  any  more? 

In  thus  refraining  he  proved  his  strength  of  mind, 
for  among  those  who  indulge  in  prompt  repartee,  how 
many  are  there  who  allow  themselves  to  be  deterred 
from  its  exercise  by  the  fear  of  wounding  their  nearest 
and  dearest? 

Monsieur  de  Dreux  was  standing  in  the  centre  of 
the  salon  distributing  friendly  hand-shakes  and  com- 
pliments, for  the  hour  was  late  and  the  Rdma^ois  were 
about  to  retire. 

Mullan  stood  near  the  door,  where  he  could  see 
Blanche,  who  was  also  accomplishing  with  equal  fervor 
her  duties  as  mistress  of  the  house.  She  had  a  flush 
on  her  cheeks  and  a  smile  on  her  lips,  but  the  flush 
was  too  deep  and  her  smile  was  constrained. 

"Poor  little  woman  ! "  said  the  man  of  the  world  to 
himself;  "it  seems  to  me  that  women  who  love  their 
husbands  and  accept  them  as  eagles,  must,  as  a  rule, 
marry  simpletons !  Now  then,  is  De  Dreux  a  simple- 
ton? Not  yet;  but  in  ten  years  he  will  be  one. 
And  I,  what  am  I  ?  Who  will  ever  believe  that  I  this 
day  have  made  a  great  sacrifice  ?  Have  I  not  been  a 
greater  fool  than  any  of  them  to-day  ?  " 

In  spite  of  this  misgiving,  he  whistled  a  succession 
of  merry  airs  as  he  drove  home,  keeping  time  to  the 
measured  trot  of  his  good  horse. 
3 


50  AN    ARRIVAL. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

AN     ARRIVAL. 

THE  next  afternoon,  Blanche  was  with  her  son  and 
his  nurse,  taking  their  daily  walk  in  the  gardens, 
when  she  saw  through  the  trees  a  lady  and  gentle- 
man at  the  further  end  of  the  avenue  leading  to  the 
chateau. 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  the  new  comers  did  not 
belong  in  £hat  vicinity,  for  the  R^magois  never  walked 
so  fast  or  so  steadily.  Besides,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighboring  country  houses  were  really  too  far  away 
to  undertake  so  long  a  walk  in  such  heat.  Some- 
what puzzled,  Blanche  returned  to  the  chateau,  and 
from  ttje  windows  of  the  salon  saw  the  visitors  ascend- 
ing the  steps. 

She  uttered  a  little  shriek  of  joy  and  rushed  out  to 
meet  them. 

"  Madeline !  "  she  cried,  embracing  the  young  lady 
pver  and  over  again,  "  Madeline !  At  last ! " 

"My  husband  !  "  said  Madeline,  presenting  her  son. 

"  You  are  indeed  welcome,"  answered  Madame  de 
Preux,  extending  her  l}and  cordially  to  this  husband 
so  briefly  presented.  "But  why,"  she  continued,  "did 
you  not  let  us  know,  we  would  have  sent  a  carriage  to 
the  station  ;  and  your  trunks?" 

"They  are  at   the   station,"    answered   the   young 


AN    ARRIVAL.  51 

stranger.  "  We  are  only  making  you  a  little  call,  and 
as  we  had  only  a  couple  of  hours,  thought  it  best  not 
to  disarrange  your  household  affairs." 

"  Two  hours  !  It  was  not  worth  while  to  come  for 
that  time  !  "  said  Blanche.  "  I  won't  hear  one  word  of 
your  leaving  to-day,  nor  this  week — nor  ever.  Give 
me  the  checks  for  your  luggage,  if  you  please,  and  in 
an  hour  you  will  be  comfortably  established  here,  with 
your  belongings  about  you." 

Madeline's  husband  obeyed  without  resistance. 
Blanche  gave  the  necessary  orders  to  a  servant,  and 
then  took  her  friends  to  her  favorite  abiding  place,  the 
little  green  salon. 

"Whence  come  you?  "she  said.  "When  did  you 
leave  Paris?  Where  are  you  going?  Your  silence, 
Madeline,  has  been  so  complete  since  the  letter  an- 
nouncing your  marriage,  that  I  thought,  at  least,  you 
were  in  China  or  Australia." 

Madame  Lecomte  smiled,  as  if  highly  delighted. 

"  We  tried  to  make  ourselves  forgotten,"  she  said, 
"lest  sorrow  should  be  tempted  to  remember  and 
visit  us." 

Monsieur  Lecomte  and  his  wife  exchanged  a  look  so 
full  of  affection,  that  Blanche  saw  that  they  were 
perfectly  happy. 

After  a  few  moments  conversation,  she  herself 
showed  them  to  the  room  she  had  selected  for  them, 
and  left  them  there. 

The  arrival  of  her  friends  did  Blanche  an  immense 
amount  of  good.  In  talking  with  this  friend  of  her 


52  AN    ARRIVAL. 

childhood  and  youth,  she  would  undoubtedly  be  able 
to  find  a  name  for  her  sadness,  and  possibly  succeed  in 
driving  it  away.  If  she  suffered,  it  was  of  course 
from  the  merest  chimeras,  for  she  had  not  the  smallest 
reason  for  sadness ;  a  little  light,  the  light  which 
comes  from  long  talks  with  an  intimate  friend,  would 
dissipate  the  shadows  brooding  over  her  troubled  soul. 

It  was  with  sincere  joy  that  Blanche  informed  her 
husband  of  the  arrival  of  her  friends,  and  of  her  hope 
that  they  would  make  a  long  stay  at  the  chateau. 
Guy  received  this  intelligence  with  his  usual  ami- 
ability. He  liked  to  see  the  chateau  full  of  guests. 
"  The  lawns,"  he  said,  "  were  made  that  the  long 
trains  of  women's  dresses  should  sweep  over  them, 
and  the  carriages  were  of  no  other  use  than  to  take 
about  a  laughing  crowd."  It  did  not  matter  to  him 
who  the  guests  were ;  he  enjoyed  their  companionship 
and  treated  them  with  that  indiscriminate  politeness 
and  cordiality  which  the  inexperienced  are  apt  to  take 
for  friendship,  and  which  is  too  often  the  mask  for 
indifference. 

He  knew  Gerard  Lecomte  but  slightly,  for  that  gen- 
tleman lived  in  a  circle  which  was  less  frivolous  than 
his  own  and  more  domestic.  Lecomte  was  not  satis- 
fied with  his  position  as  the  grandson  of  an  engineer 
of  great  celebrity  under  the  first  empire ;  he  employed 
the  fortune  bequeathed  him  by  his  father,  who  had 
acquired  it  in  trade,  in  studies  and  investigations 
which  were  certain  some  day  to  make  his  name 
glorious. 


AN    ARRIVAL.  53 

Naturally,  the  points  of  sympathy  between  Guy  de 
Dreux  and  himself  were  few;  but  in  regard  to  this 
Guy  did  not  give  himself  much  uneasiness. 

Provided  a  man  could  ride,  could  smoke  and  could 
use  a  gun  in  the  autumn,  Guy  was  fully  satisfied. 
More  than  this,  too,  Madeline's  presence,  whom  he 
heartily  liked,  could  not  but  be  agreeable  to  him. 
While  doing  justice  to  the  superior  qualities  of 
Blanche,  Guy  could  not  but  contrast  her  reserve  of 
manner  and  occasional  sadness  with  Madeline's 
laughing  gayety. 

As  he  was  a  philosopher,  he  had  frequently  said  to 
himself  that  a  man  could  not  have  everything,  and  his 
affection  for  Blanche  had  not  suffered,  although  as  a 
general  rule  he  preferred  to  converse  with  women  less 
serious  than  Madame  de  Dreux. 

The  dinner  was  charming.  The  dining-room  of  this 
modern  chateau,  lighted  by  enormous  windows,  which, 
thrown  wide  open,  allowed  a  full  view  of  the  garden 
to  be  seen,  making  it  appear,  in  fact,  like  a  portion  of 
the  dining-room,  was  eminently  favorable  to  gayety. 
The  smallest  number  of  domestics  was  the  order  given 
for  such  dinners  as  these,  to  which  the  youth  and  gay- 
ety of  both  hosts  and  guests  imparted  so  agreeable  a 
quality. 

"  It  is  like  the  old  times,  before  you  were  married," 
said  Monsieur  de  Dreux  to  Madeline.  "Do  you 
remember  those  delightful  little  breakfasts  when  you 
were  our  guest  ?  " 

"  I  hope,"  added  Blanche,  "  that  we  shall  have  them 


54  AN    ARRIVAL. 

again  this  winter ;  with  the  addition  of  your  husband 
they  will  be  still  more  agreeable." 

"  My  husband  does  not  seem  especially  lively," 
answered  Madeline,  while  her  husband  bowed  his 
smiling  thanks,  "but  he  enjoys  a  great  deal,  I  assure 
you,  and  a  great  deal  that  he  keeps  to  himself." 

Mullan  came  in  for  coffee,  as  was  his  daily  habit. 
The  young  fellows  went  out  in  the  garden  to  smoke, 
while  Blanche  and  her  friend  retired  to  the  green 
salon,  which  was  peculiarly  delightful  at  this  sunset 
hour,  for  its  windows  commanded  the  western  sky. 
The  hour  and  the  season  were  calculated  for  mutual 
confidences. 

"  I  do  not  ask  if  you  are  happy,"  said  Blanche,  at 
once  breaking  the  ice ;  "that  I  can  read  at  a  glance. 
I  do  not  a^k  either  if  your  husband  has  every  good 
quality;  that  I  take  for  granted.  But  talk  to  me 
about  him.  Do  you  remember  how  you  laughed  at  my 
enthusiasm  before  my  marriage  ?  I  hope  now  to  treat 
you  in  the  same  heartless  manner." 

"  Do  so,"  answered  her  friend.  "  I  have  not  the 
smallest  objection.  I  assure  you  that  there  is  nothing 
in  the  world  I  enjoy  so  much  as  talking  of  my 
husband." 

'•  The  only  thing  that  surprises  me,"  said  Blanche, 
*•  is  that  you  had  the  courage  to  marry  so  grave  and 
earnest  a  man  as  Monsieur  Lecomte.  This  winter, 
when  the  marriage  was  announced,  I  doubted  if  it 
would  ever  take  place,  for  I  thought  you  would  be 
afraid  at  the  last  moment?" 


AN    ARRIVAL.  55 

"Afraid  of  what?" 

"I  hardly  know;  afraid  of  marrying  this  taciturn 
gentleman.  It  seems  to  me  that  he  might  frown  in  a 
terrible  way  when  one  uttered  a  foolish  thing.  He  is 
so  amazingly  clever!" 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Madeline,  laughing,  "  You  have  little 
conception  of  the  quantity  of  foolish  things  I  said  to 
him  before  he  asked  me  to  marry  him.  I  think  it  was 
that  which  encouraged  him." 

"  How  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"I  mean  just  that.  You  think  him  taciturn;  you 
are  mistaken,  he  is  timid.  You  cannot  imagine  the 
good  it  did  him  when  he  saw  that  I  had  confidence 
enough  in  him  to  tell  him  all  that  passed  through  my 
head." 

Blanche  smiled. 

"lean  readily  understand  that,"  she  said,  "but  I 
still  must  say  that  I  do  not  understand  how  it  hap- 
pened that  you  were  not  afraid  of  him." 

Madeline's  eyes  revealed  the  truth  without  the  words 
which  she  slowly  uttered. 

"Do  you  think  it  nothing,"  she  said,  softly,  "to  feel 
that  you  alone  can  read  the  thoughts  of  this  silent  man? 
You  can  not  imagine  how  I  felt  when  I  learned  that 
he  had  asked  my  hand  of  my  parents.  Just  imagine  I 
Science  and  I,  fill  his  soul.  Yes,  dear  friend,  Science 
and  Progress  lead  the  way,  and  I  follow  after — and  I 
am  satisfied.  His  heart  is  a  hidden  treasure,  of  which 
I  alone  hold  the  key.  I  am  proud  of  my  husband,  and 
I  love  him.  I  can  not  tell  at  times  whether  I  am  proud 


56  AN    ARRIVAL. 

of  him  because  I  love  him,  or  if  I  love  him.  because  I 
am  proud  of  him.  But,  after  all,  that  matters  little,  I 
adore  him ! " 

Blanche  felt  her  heart  contract  with  an  acute  pang. 
Before  she  had  time  to  analyze  it,  Madeline  went  on 
with  what  she  was  saying. 

"You  can  readily  imagine,  dear,  the  feeling  with 
which  I  see  my  husband's  name  quoted  among  those 
of  our  rising  young  savants.  Wheji  I  married  him,  I 
had  not  the  smallest  idea  of  the  number  of  celebrated 
people  with  whom  he  is  in  constant  communication. 
At  our  marriage  these  celebrities  were  present  in 
shoals.  Members  of  the  Institute,  professors,  and  all 
sorts  of  clever  people.  I  was  dumbfounded,  but  I  said 
to  myself  *  they  are  his  father's  old  friends,  who  wish 
to  be  polite  to  him.'  You  know  when  people  are  mar- 
ried they  invite  everybody  they  ever  knew  or  their 
families  ever  knew ;  old  connections  are  exhumed  for 
the  occasion,  and  speedily  forgotten.  I  don't  know 
why  this  is  done,  I  am  sure,  for  I  think  one's  wedding 
would  be  infinitely  more  agreeable  with  one's  parents 
and  two  or  three  friends.  But  I  was  still  more  aston- 
ished when  these  gentlemen  called  on  my  husband  and 
gladly  accepted  our  invitations  to  dinner!  The  com- 
fort of  these  people  is,  you  know,  that  they  are  in 
town  when  everybody  else,  I  mean  by  everybody  of 
course  fashionable  society — is  away. 

"  We  had  two  or  three  dinners,  and  I  confess  that  I 
still  feel  elated  when  I  think  of  the  manner  ifr  which 
these  elderly  and  distinguished  men  treated  my  hus- 


AN    ARRIVAL.  57 

band.  There  was  one  even  who  called  him  'our 
young  teacher  ! '  I  ran  out  of  the  room,  and  when  I 
was  alone,  my  dear,  I  fairly  cried  with  joy !  I  was 
simply  idiotic,  and  hardly  knew  what  I  was  doing,  and 
when  this  old  gentleman — who  was  frightfully  ugly, 
let  me  here  say — went  away,  I  asked  him  to  kiss  me, 
and  everybody  laughed." 

Madeline  laughed,  too,  but  tears  stood  in  her  eyes 
at  the  recollection  of  this  scene. 

Blanche  leaned  toward  her  friend,  and  kissed  her 
tenderly.  The  two  women  sat  for  a  moment  with 
their  arms  around  each  other,  as  in  the  days  of  yore, 
when  they  studied  out  of  the  same  book ;  then 
Madame  de  Dreux  settled  herself  again  in  her  corner 
of  the  sofa,  with  a  dim  consciousness  that  she  was 
unhappy. 

"But  my  husband  was  gratified,"  continued  Made- 
line. "When  we  were  alone  he  thanked  me  for  my 
kindness  toward  his  old  professor.  It  seems  that  in 
the  college  where  Gerard  was  educated  all  the  pro- 
fessors are  savants.  This  struck  me  as  very  odd,  for  I 
do  not  think  our  teachers  were  especially  distin- 
guished. But  the  education  of  young  men  and  young 
women  is  a  very  different  matter." 

Blanche  smiled,  and  Madeline  talked  on : 

"  You  laugh  at  me,"  she  said,  "  because  you  your- 
self are  learned.  I  hear  you  still  keep  up  all  your 
studies,  and  I  know  you  had  all  sorts  of  masters  after 
we  left  school — while  I  am  a  perfect  little  dunce.  I 
told  Gerard  that  I  did  not  kiss  his  professor  because  I 


58  AN    ARRIVAL. 

appreciated  his  wisdom,  but  simply  because  he  had 
spoken  of  my  husband  as  '  our  young  teacher.'  Then 
Gerard  became  very  grave." 

Madeline  did  the  same,  as  she  sat  silently  recalling 
those  delicious  moments  of  mutual  confidence  between 
her  husband  and  herself. 

It  was  now  quite  dark,  and  the  room  was  filled  with 
the  delicious  odor  of  heliotrope  from  the  flower  beds 
in  the  garden. 

Blanche,  too,  was  absorbed  in  thought,  but  what 
were  these  thoughts?  She  could  not  have  told. 
Guy's  voice  under  the  window  suddenly  reached  her 
ear.  She  started,  her  brow  contracted  as  with  pain, 
and  rising  she  rang  for  lights.  When  these  were 
brought  the  salon  was  quite  another  place.  Madeline, 
a  little  ashamed  of  having  spoken  so  frankly,  went  to 
the  mirror,  and  as  she  lightly  smoothed  her  hair,  she 
said  gaily  to  her  friend : 

"  And  you — tell  me  something  of  yourself." 

"  I  have  nothing  to  tell  you,  except  what  you 
already  know,"  answered  Madame  de  Dreux.  "  You 
have  married  since  we  met.  And  I  have  a  son.  A 
child  brings  many  changes  in  one's  life  " 

"  But  such  happy  changes  !  " 

*'  Yes,"  answered  Blanche,  with  the  slightest  possi- 
ble hesitation.  "  I  adore  my  son,  and  I  hope  that  he, 
some  day,  will  return  my  affection  with  interest." 

"  As  he  will  do,  most  certainly,"  said  Madeline. 
"  Whom  does  he  resemble  ?  " 

"  I  think  he  is  like  my  husband — but  others  say  he 


AN    ARRIVAL.  59 

resembles  me,  which  I  most  sincerely  hope  is  not  the 
case ! " 

"  Would  you  regard  that  as  such  a  misfortune  ? " 
asked  Madame  Lecomte,  laughing. 

Blanche  smiled  faintly,  but  her  gravity  instantly 
returned.  Her  friend  resumed  with  more  circumspec- 
tion than  she  usually  employed  in  speaking. 

"Tell  me,  what  does  your  husband  intend  to  do?  " 

Madame  de  Dreux  answered  with  an  affectation  of 
carelessness : 

"Nothing  more,  I  fancy,  than  he  is  doing  now,"  she 
answered.  "  Had  you  come  yesterday,  you  would 
have  seen  him  in  all  his  glory." 

"  How  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  He  is  president  of  the  Horticultural  Society.  He 
is  also  president  of  several  other  local  societies.  These 
are  not  very  great  honors,  but  they  are  certainly  flat- 
tering." 

"And  he  has  no  other  ambitions?" 

"  I  do  not  know,"  answered  Blanche. 

Madeline  looked  at  her  friend  earnestly  for  a 
moment,  then  dropping  her  eyes,  she  turned  away. 

"What  is  it  you  wish  to  say?"  asked  Blanche. 

"  Only," — Madeline  hesitated,  then  summoning  all 
her  courage,  she  continued :  "  Only  that  it  seems  to 
me,  with  his  fortune  and  position,  Monsieur  de  Dreux 
ought  to  be  something." 

"Such  as  what?" 

"  Some  thing !  These  two  words  signify  anything, 
from  a  district  attorney  to  a  cabinet  minister.  You 


60  AN    ARRIVAL. 

see  there  are  many  degrees  between  these  two  grades. 
You  really  ought,  Blanche,  to  try  and  excite  your 
husband's  ambition." 

"  Guy  has  no  ambition. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  it.  In  these  days  everybody 
should  be  ambitious,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word  I 
mean,  of  course.  It  does  not  seem  to  me  precisely 
just  that  a  rich  man,  who  must  have  great  influence, 
should  live  without  trying  to  make  a  good  use  of  his 
wealth,  his  intelligence,  his  influence,  and  of  all  that 
which  is  his ;  without,  in  short,  contributing  all  in  his 
power  to  the  welfare  of  his  country." 

"  That  is  precisely  what  he  said  in  his  speech  yester- 
day, at  the  floral  exhibition,"  answered  Blanche,  with 
an  air  of  triumph. 

"  Really  ?  Did  he  speak  in  that  way  ?  "  asked  Made- 
line. "  Ah  !  How  happy  you  make  me,  dear  friend  ?  " 

And  she  embraced  Blanche  with  some  effusion. 

"I  am  delighted  to  have  given  you  so  much  pleas- 
ure," said  Madame  de  Dreux,  in  a  calmer  tone,  "  but  I 
must  confess  that  I  do  not  see — " 

"  Well !  I  will  tell  you,  as  your  husband  has  proved 
the  falsity  of  the  accusation.  He  has  been  somewhat 
blamed  for  not  utilizing  the  position  given  him  by  your 
large  fortune.  You  know  well  how  I  love  you,  do 
you  not?  More  than  once  my  indignation  has  been 
aroused  by  hearing  him  attacked.  I  have  defended 
him,  of  course,  but,  after  all,  what  could  I  say  ?  Very 
little." 

"He  is  accused,  you  say?"  asked  Blanche,  ner- 
vously. "  Of  what,  pray  ?  " 


AN    ARRIVAL.  61 

"  I  ought  not  to  have  used  the  word  accusation — it 
is  simply  that  they  say  he  should  have  done  very 
differently.  But  this  does  not  matter,  as  he  does 
really  wish  to  enter  into  an  active  life." 

"  Excuse  me !  "  said  Blanche,  "  it  does  matter.  I 
wish  to  know  precisely  what  has  been  said  in  regard 
to  my  husband.  To  what  cause  is  the  lack  of  ambi- 
tion, which  they  deplore,  attributed  ?  " 

Madeline  hesitated. 

"  To — to — I  cannot  tell  you  that,  Blanche.  And 
yet,  perhaps,  it  is  better  that  you  should  know,  since 
you  can  then  defend  him.  It  is  said,  then,  that  after 
Monsieur  de  Dreux  married,  two  years  since,  a  woman 
of  intelligence,  who  put  him  in  possession  of  a  large 
fortune,  he  was  content  to  live  an  idle,  agreeable  life, 
and  cared  little  to  make  himself  useful  to  his  country. 
Better  things  were  expected  of  him — it  was  supposed 
that  in  exchange  for  your  dowry,  he  would  bestow  on 
you  that  consideration  and  position  which  may  be 
attained  by  personal  merit." 

"  It  was  my  guardian  who  said  that !  "  cried  Blanche, 
indignantly.  "I  recognize  his  phrases!" 

"He  said  the  same  thing,  at  all  events,  but  he  is  not 
the  only  one  to  say  it.  All  your  old  friends,  those 
who  knew  you  in  your  childhood,  and  those  who  love 
you  to-day,  are  inclined  to  regret — " 

"  I  understand,"  interrupted  Blanche,  as  she  paced 
the  salon.  "  My  husband  is  accused  of  having  taken 
my  dowry,  and  of  giving  nothing  in  return.  It  seems 
to  me  that  others  might  have  done  the  same  without 
incurring  blame." 


62  AN    ARRIVAL. 

"Yes,"  answered  Madame  Lecomte,  gently,  "but 
your  father  and  grandfather  have  both  had  much 
influence  in  public  affairs;  it  was  hoped  that  your 
husband  would  have  the  same,  and  people  in  their  dis- 
appointment have  been  unjust  toward  him ;  and  then, 
you  know,  that  Monsieur  de  Dreux  must  suffer  from 
the  jealous  and  envious — " 

"I  know,"  interrupted  Blanche,  bitterly.  "I  have 
heard  this  same  thing  said  too  often.  He  is  far  too 
handsome !  But  when  you  see  those  persons  again 
who  so  kindly  concern  themselves  in  the  affairs  of  my 
husband  and  myself,  will  you  kindly  say  to  them  that 
they  are  in  too  great  haste  to  judge  a  ruan  without 
waiting  to  hear  him,  and  that  it  is  a  singular  way  to 
show  affection  toward  a  woman  by  pulling  her  hus- 
band to  pieces,  and  that  they  will  not  succeed  in 
detaching  me  from  him  in  that  way." 

"  Detaching  you  from  him  !  "  repeated  Madeline,  in 
great  surprise.  "  Dear  Blanche,  you  have  misunder- 
stood me,  or  I  have  expressed  myself  very  badly. 
Your  friends,  on  the  contrary,  wish*  you  to  use  your 
influence  over  your  husband ;  to  communicate  to  him 
a  taste  for  serious  occupation,  whether  political  or 
otherwise.  They  care  little  whether  he  becomes  an 
ambassador  or  a  member  of  the  academy." 

The  idea  of  seeing  her  husband  in  the  academy 
appeared  so  singular  to  Madame  de  Dreux,  that  she 
laughed  heartily,  but  in  a  way  that  was  too  nervous  to 
be  altogether  natural. 

"  Ever  since  you  married  a  savant,  you  think  only 


AN    ARRIVAL.  63 

of  the  academy,  my  dear  Madeline,"  she  said,  when 
her  hilarity  was  over.  "  Do  not  be  troubled  in  regard 
to  our  future.  I  am  infinitely  obliged  to  you  for 
speaking  to  me  with  such  frankness.  I  ought  to  have 
distrusted  the  judgment  of  my  friends  and  my  near 
neighbors ;  and  this  is  an  excellent  reason." 

"  Blanche !  you  do  not  mean  that  you  think  I  have 
been  actuated  by  unworthy  sentiments?"  cried  Made- 
line, in  consternation. 

In  her  eyes  and  earnest  gestures  there  was  so  much 
loyalty,  that  Madame  de  Dreux  was  greatly  touched. 

"No,  dear  Madeline,  I  think  nothing  of  the  kind. 
I  can  believe  no  evil  of  you.  I  simply  mean  that  all 
superiority  awakens  malice  and  envy  among  many 
persons,  and  my  husband  is  too  superior  for  any  one 
to  show  him  any  mercy." 

The  kind  hearted  little  Madame  Lecomte  opened 
her  eyes  very  wide,  when  she  heard  this  allusion  to 
Guy's  superiority.  Guy !  whom  she  had  always  re- 
garded as  a  good-natured  fellow,  with  no  especial 
ability.  But  she  was  a  simple-hearted  creature,  who 
believed  always  precisely  what  was  said  to  her. 

When  she  was  alone  with  her  husband,  she  repeated 
her  conversation  with  Blanche,  and  ended  by  mention- 
ing the  superiority  attributed  to  Monsieur  de  Dreux 
by  his  wife. 

"  Of  what  nature  is  this  superiority  ?  "  she  asked,  a 
little  troubled  that  she  had  never  even  suspected  it. 

"  I  have  not  the  smallest  idea,  my  dearest,"  answered 
Gerard,  "but  if  it  exists,  it  ought  to  be  very  remark- 
able, for  him  to  conceal  it  with  such  care." 


64  AWAKENING. 


CHAPTER   V. 

AWAKENIK  G. 

BLANCHE  was  alone  in  her  large  sleeping  room — 
a  room  furnished  with  every  luxury  that  modern 
taste  and  ingenuity  could  devise.  She  had  dismissed 
her  maid,  extinguished  her  lights,  and  thrown  her 
windows  wide  open.  Then,  drawing  up  a  low  couch, 
on  which  it  was  quite  possible  for  two  to  find  room, 
she  seated  herself  where  she  could  look  into  the 
garden,  now  sleeping  in  odorous  silence  in  the 
moonlight. 

The  heart  of  the  young  wife  and  mother  was  very 
full  of  sad  thoughts,  as  well  as  some  disagreeable  ones. 
Every  one  knows  how  such  thoughts  are  often  more 
difficult  to  bear  than  real  sorrows.  One  makes  it  a 
duty  to  submit  to  these  last  with  dignity,  but  what 
can  one  do  against  a  persistent  idea — a  memory  that 
haunts  and  harasses  you.  The  conversation  between 
Blanche  and  herself  had  left  in  her  ears  some  of  those 
discordant  notes  which  she  did  not  choose  to  hear,  and 
which  persisted  in  repeating  themselves  over  and  over 
again. 

Recognizing  the  utter  uselessness  of  her  efforts  to 
drive  away  this  impression  by  the  aid  of  others  more 
agreeable,  Madame  de  Dreux  permitted  herself  to 
drift  away  on  a  current  of  ideas  which  was  deep 


AWAKENING.  65 

enough  to  drown  all  the  others,  and  yet  were  so  famil- 
iar to  her  that  she  floated  away  without  feeling  any 
shock. 

It  was  in  this  same  room  that  two  years  before,  her 
wedding  journey  had  come  to  an  end.  It  was  here 
that  her  husband  had  knelt  at  her  feet — the  husband 
whom  she  had  married  against  the  wishes  of  all  her 
friends ;  the  husband  whom  she  had  endowed  with  all 
those  blessings  which  wealth  can  procure,  and  to 
whom,  as  a  last  offering,  she  surrendered  herself  with 
all  her  girlish  grace  and  beauty — which  beauty  was  to 
develop  into  the  radiant  serenity  of  the  beloved  wife. 

This  room  was  now  as  fresh  as  then — the  garden, 
the  night,  might  have  been  the  same — the  whole  scene 
recalled  the  same  thoughts.  As  Blanche  looked  out 
on  the  moonlight,  hot  tears  fell  on  her  slender  hands, 
wrung  from  her  heart  by  the  intensity  of  her  anguish. 
It  was  six  months  since  .she  had  seen  her  husband 
alone ;  six  months  since  he  crossed  that  threshold. 

Every  morning  when  they  met  at  the  breakfast 
table,  he  lifted  her  hand  to  his  lips,  arid  then  bent  and 
kissed  her  forehead.  He  was  more  than  polite  to  her 
always;  he  seemed  anxious  to  please  her  in  all  particu- 
lars. But  the  intimacy  of  constant  companionship 
had  altogether  ceased,  her  dream  had  vanished  like  a 
cloud  from  the  sky,  like  the  perfume  from  a  rose. 

Her  tears  now  fell,  less  at  the   thought  of  his  aban- 
donment, than  for  the  dread  she  felt  that  the  hour 
must  eventually  come  when  her  heart  would  unequivo- 
ally  eondenm  her  husband. 
4 


66  AWAKENING. 

"  Why  has  he  become  so  indifferent  to  me  ? "  she 
said  to  herself  sometimes.  "Does  he  think  that  he 
has  paid  a  high  price  for  my  tenderness  by  giving  me 
a  year  and  a  half  of  love  ?  I  have  given  him  my 
whole  life — has  he  only  lent  me  his?" 

These  reflections  had  not  suddenly  occurred  to 
Blanche.  They  had  slowly  made  their  way  into  her 
soul ;  at  first  they  occasioned  vague  disquietude,  then, 
terror,  and  then  a  dismal  certainty  that  she  was  no 
longer  loved.  Under  such  circumstances  what  can  a 
woman  say  to  her  husband  ?  Blanche  felt  that  it  was 
impossible  for  her  to  question  Guy  in  regard  to  his 
conduct. 

The  birth  of  her  child  had  engrossed  her  for  some 
time,  but  when  weeks  and  months  elapsed  and  Guy 
showed  her  only  the  same  ceremonious  and  cour- 
teous attention,  sharp  pangs  assailed  her.  She  was 
not  jealous ;  she  was  too  ignorant  and  too  innocent  to 
fear  rivals,  but  she  was  painfully  humiliated.  "  I  have 
ceased  to  please  him,"  she  said,  "and  my  happiness 
has  come  to  an  end  for  ever ! " 

Blanche  was  too  proud  to  speak  to  any  one  of  her 
sorrows.  A  mother  would  have  suspected  them,  but 
Blanche  had  no  mother.  She  therefore  kept  her 
anxieties  imprisoned  in  her  own  breast,  all  the  time 
turning  them  over,  sometimes  with  a  sudden  return  of 
hope,  oftener,  however,  with  the  blind  persistence  of 
despair. 

Madeline's  confidences,  the  knowledge  that  between 
her  friend  and  the  man  whom  this  friend  had  married, 


AWAKENING.  67 

there  was  entire  sympathy  of  tastes,  imparted  more 
than  usual  bitterness  to  the  thoughts  of  Madame  de 
Dreux  this  night  of  which  we  write.  In  the  first 
months  of  her  marriage  she  had  gone  to  Guy  with 
every  thought  and  feeling,  with  the  timid  confidence 
of  young  wives  who  are  afraid  of  displeasing ;  he  had 
received  her  girlish  confidences  with  the  most  charm- 
ing grace,  smiling  kindly  when  they  seemed  to  him 
especially  childish — but  of  these  long  conversations  in 
which  each  was  to  learn  much  of  the  other,  where 
passion  rises  to  supreme  tenderness — of  this  Blanche 
knew  nothing.  Her  conversations  with  her  husband 
during  their  honeymoon  were  generally  about  their 
friends,  their  social  circle,  some  journey  they  were  to 
take,  or  other  matters  entirely  impersonal.  Blanche 
asked  herself  now  why  she  had  never  noticed  this  at 
the  time.  How  had  she  been  able  to  accept  for  so 
long  such  alloy  for  pure  gold.  Her  happiness  as  com- 
pared to  Madeline,  was  the  merest  chimera. 

What  would  she  not  have  given  could  her  life  with 
Guy  have  been  like  that  of  her  friend  with  Gerard ! 
Stifling  a  sob,  she  turned  for  consolation  to  the  thought 
of  her  son.  Her  child  would  love  her.  She  would  be  a 
good  mother  to  him,  and  he  would  be  to  her  a  compen- 
sation for  all  she  had  hoped  to  obtain,  and  had  failed 
to  find. 

But  her  child  as  yet  was  only  beginning  to  smile. 
How  long  she  would  be  compelled  to  wait  until  he 
could  realize  that  his  mother  had  need  of  his  affection 
and  deserved  his  gratitude.  Besides,  other  women, 


68  AWAKENING. 

happy  creatures,  had  the  love  of  both  husband  and 
child.  What  was  Blanche  doing  all  these  long  days, 
when  he  left  her  alone,  to  either  receive  or  pay  visits, 
about  which  he  never  cared  to  inquire  ?  It  was  impos- 
sible that  his  horses  should  occupy  him  all  day.  He 
went  to  Paris  very  often,  "on  business,"  he  said,  but 
what  was  his  business? 

Blanche  rose,  and  opening  her  desk  took  out  the 
rough  copy  of  the  speech  her  husband  had  made  at  the 
opening  of  the  Exposition.  Entering  by  chance  the 
smoking-room,  where  Guy  had  been  writing,  she  found 
this  paper  half  torn  and  crushed.  She  bore  it  away 
as  a  precious  relic,  for  all  that  this  man  had  touched, 
ungrateful  as  he  was,  was  precious  in  her  eyes.  She 
had  read  over  this  MS.,  and  when  she  heard  her  husband 
recite  it  the  previous  day,  had  wondered  at  his  taking 
so  much  trouble  for  so  trifling  a  matter.  The  speech 
had  not  struck  her  as  being  especially  good,  but  after 
her  conversation  with  Madeline  she  was  curious  to 
read  it  again,  which  she  did  very  slowly,  detecting 
under  the  erasures  the  hesitation  in  the  thoughts. 
There  is  nothing  more  treacherous  than  a  rough 
draught:  there  is  no  more  dangerous  arms  against 
oneself,  as  everybody  should  remember.  It  is  in  these 
papers  that  frankness  and  cunning  are  most  easily 
detected — a  quick  decision  or  uncertainty  and  hesita- 
tion. It  is  in  the  erasures,  in  the  words  omitted  and 
supplied,  that  your  enemy  reads  the  fluctuations  of 
your  will  and  learns  your  weak  side  on  which  he 
determines  to  attack  you. 


AWAKENING.  69 

Enlightened  by  the  conversation  with  Madeline, 
Blanche  read  in  this  paper  many  things  of  which 
she  had  a  vague  intuitive  perception,  but  which  she 
had  never  put  into  words.  The  phrases  were  short 
and  without  connection;  commonplace  sentences  oc- 
curred again  and  again,  and  were  replaced  by  more 
elaborate  ones.  The  written  discourse  was  nothing — 
but  spoken  with  proper  emphasis,  and  in  Guy's  deli- 
cious voice,  it  had  seemed  really  eloquent.  Blanche 
read  it  for  the  second  time  with  a  feeling  of  conster- 
nation. 

"  He  does  not  really  understand  the  construction  of 
the  French  language  !  "  she  said  to  herself.  "  What 
did  he  learn  at  college  ?  He  speaks  with  perfect  cor- 
rectness, or,  at  all  events,  he  seems  to  do  so.  But  he 
never  speaks  of  serious  matters,"  she  added  with  a  sigh. 

Madame  de  Dreux  restored  the  paper  to  her  desk, 
and  relapsed  into  meditation. 

"  Madeline  was  right,"  she  said  to  herself.  "  Guy 
must  be  something.  It  is  enough  that  he  has  ceased 
to  love  me,  without  everybody  knowing  it.  What 
would  be  thought  of  him,  were  it  known  that  I  am 
nothing  in  his  eyes,  and  that  he  lives  an  indolent,  self- 
indulgent  life  surrounded  by  luxuries  which  he  owes 
entirely  to  me?  If  he  were  occupied  with  politics, 
arts,  or  sciences,  his  neglect  of  me  would  be  excused ; 
he  would  have,  at  all  events,  the  pretext  of  an  absorb- 
ing occupation." 

Her  tears  were  over ;  she  had  fallen  into  a  mood  of 
bitter  indifference.  To  save  appearances  in  the  eyes  of 


70  AWAKENING. 

her  family  and  friends  was  of  the  first  importance  to 
her.  Her  grief  and  mortification  were  her  own,  and 
she  was  not  likely  to  reveal  them.  "  Politics,"  she 
thought,  "  would  open  the  best  field  to  him ;  for  that 
career  no  such  excessive  cleverness  is  essential ! " 

She  had  now  arrived  at  a  decision,  and  rising  she 
went  to  a  mirror  and  began  to  take  down  her  hair. 
These  blonde  tresses,  so  shining  and  magnificent,  Guy 
once  liked  to  wrap  around  his  arm,  but  they  now 
seemed  very  heavy  to  her. 

"  What  is  the  good  of  spending  an  hour  every  day 
inputting  them  up,"  she  said,  half  aloud,  "since  he 
cares  no  longer  for  them?  I  will  cut  them  off — I 
wonder  what  he  will  say?" 

She  looked  around  for  the  scissors  that  she  might  at 
once  accomplish  the  sacrifice.  She  felt  that  Guy 
might  be  piqued  by  this  mute  reproach.  Fortunately, 
the  scissors  were  not  to  be  found,  and  she  was  obliged 
to  postpone  the  execution  of  her  project.  As  she 
turned  back  to  her  dressing-table  a  step  was  heard 
in  the  next  room,  and  then  a  light  tap  at  the  door. 

"Who  is  it?"  she  cried,  terrified,  for  she  at  once 
thought  of  her  child,  and  was  afraid  he  was  ill. 

"  It  is  I,  my  dear,"  said  Guy.  "  It  is  late,  I  know, 
but  may  I  not  come  in  ?  " 

Without  awaiting  her  reply,  he  opened  the  door, 
which  was  not  bolted,  and  coming  in,  he  closed  it 
behind  him. 

Blanche  stood  in  silence,  looking  at  him.  She  was 
greatly  disturbed,  and  unable  to  conceal  her  emotion. 


AWAKENING.  71 

"  I  see,"  said  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  with  careless  ease, 
"  that  my  visit  astonishes  you.  I  am  to  blame,  too,  for 
this,  of  course,  but  I  shall  petition  for  absolution.  You 
will  not  be  more  cruel  than  the  church,  will  you  ?  " 

Speaking  in  this  gay  tone,  he  took  his  wife's  hand 
and  carried  it  to  his  lips.  She  snatched  it  away  with 
considerable  decision,  as  she  looked  him  in  the  face, 
on  which  shone  the  lights  in  the  candelabra. 

Why  was  he  here  after  his  long  neglect.  Did  he 
suppose  that  he  had  only  to  present  himself  before  her, 
to  obtain  the  love  he  had  so  long  neglected. 

A  moment  earlier,  had  Blanche  been  consulted,  she 
would  have  felt  that  she  would  have  given  all  she  had 
in  the  world  to  have  had  him  at  her  side.  But  now, 
this  late  visit  irritated  her.  She  was  tempted  to  bid 
him  leave  her.  A  second  thought  filled  her  with  joy. 
Had  the  day  of  explanation  at  last  arrived  ? 

She  restrained  herself,  and  said  with  such  cold 
gravity:  "Have  you  anything  to  say  to  me?"  That 
Monsieur  de  Dreux  felt  like  a  man  who  has  received  a 
dash  of  cold  water  full  in  his  face.  But  having  been 
brought  up  in  the  best  society,  he  faced  the  difficulty 
boldly. 

"Anything  to  say  to  you,  my  dear  Blanche?"  he 
repeated.  "  Yes,  a  thousand  things  !  " 

He  seated  himself  on  the  sofa,  and  tried  to  take  her 
hand  again,  but  the  little  hand  struggled  so  wilfully 
that,  not  caring  to  be  ridiculous,  he  dropped  it. 

"  Could  you  not  have  told  them  to  me  to-morrow  ?  " 
said  his  wife. 


72  AWAKENING. 

Even  while  she  uttered  these  words  she  feared  that 
he  would  take  them  literally ;  would  she  ever  have 
another  occasion  like  this  to  make  him  feel  how  he  had 
wounded  her. 

"No,"  answered  Guy,  smiling.  "I  see,  my  dear, 
that  I  ought  to  apologize  for  my  shortcomings,  and  I 
have  other  apologies  to  make.  Will  you  listen  to  me 
for  a  moment?  I  will  try  to  be  brief." 

"  It  is  unnecessary  for  you  to  make  any  apologies," 
said  Blanche,  sinking  into  a  low  chair  in  front  of  him, 
*'but  if  you  have  anything  to  say  to  me,  pray  be  as 
brief  as  possible,  as  I  am  very  tired." 

"I  obey,"  answered  Guy,  most  amiably.  "I  have 
on  my  conscience  a  heavy  sin,  my  dear  Blanche.  I 
have  allowed  myself  to  become  absorbed  in  business 
matters  which  would  be  very  uninteresting  to  you,  did 
I  undertake  to  enter  into  their  details.  You  do  not 
understand  us  men,  of  course,  for  in  your  simplicity 
you  judge  us  by  yourselves,  and  think  it  impossible  for 
us  to  have  two  passions  at  the  same  time ! " 

Guy  laughed  as  if  he  had  said  something  especially 
clever,  and  this  laugh  showed  his  faultless  teeth. 
Blanche  looked  him  full  in  the  face,  and  listened  for 
further  revelations  with  a  very  serious  expression. 

"  My  passion,"  he  said,  "  is  hardly  of  a  nature  to  be 
confided  to  you,  but —  Ah !  Blanche,  will  you  ever 
forgive  me?" 

He  looked  at  her  with  a  world  of  entreaty  in  his 
wonderful  eyes — the  black  velvet  of  his  vest  brought 
out  the  ri<;h  tone  of  his  complexion,  the  softness  of  his 
silky  moustache. 


AWAKENING.  73 

Blanc'he  turned  her  eyes  away  ;  he  continued  : 

"It  was  about  the  time  of  Bebe"s  birth.  At  any 
other  time  I  should  certainly  have  made  a  clean  breast 
of  lit,  but  I  feared  any  anxiety  or  shock  might  do  you 
harm.  Since  then  I  absolutely  have  not  dared  to 
enter  your  presence,  but  at  last,  having  been  able  to 
repair  the  evil  I  have  done,  I  come  to  make  my  con- 
fession and  implore  your  pardon." 

"But  what  is  the  matter?"  asked  Blanche,  still 
incredulous,  and  greatly  agitated. 

"  Come  here,  my  beloved  ;  sit  close  by  my  side  that 
I  may  whisper  it  in  your  ear.  Nearer,  nearer." 

He  drew  her  toward  him,  she  yielded,  and  took  her 
seat  on  the  small  couch  by  his  side.  He  might  say 
anything  now — his  cause  was  won  in  advance ! 

"I  have  been  speculating,"  he  said,  "and  I  lost,  but 
within  two  days  I  regained  it." 

"  What !  "  cried  Blanche,  indignantly,  "  do  you 
mean  that  for  a  miserable  question  of  money,  you 
would—" 

"  The  sum  was  a  large  one,"  he  replied,  with  some 
confusion.  "  I  lost  a  hundred  thousand  francs." 

The  truth  flashed  before  his  wife's  eyes,  fit,  is 
false,"  she  said  to  herself.  This  thought  was  instantly 
followed  by  another. 

"If  I  do  not  believe  him  to-night,  when  should  I 
ever  believe  him  again.  If  he  has  lied  now,  my  hap- 
piness is  lost ;  my  life  is  ended." 

"  A  hundred  thousand  francs,"  she  repeated  aloud. 
"  And  is  it  for  that  paltry  sum,  Guy,  that  you  have 


74  AWAKENING. 

made  me  so  unhappy  ?  I  did  not  merit  this  at  your 
hands ! " 

He  dropped  on  one  knee,  and  protested  such  deep 
penitence,  that  she  was  really  touched.  He  did  really 
repent,  for  he  still  loved  her,  but  he  fully  intended 
deceiving  her  again.  She  was  ready  to  put  both  arms 
around  the  neck  of  this  handsome  husband  of  hers, 
but  she  did  not  lose  her  dignity. 

"It  was  a  most  unwise  thing  to  do,"  she  said, 
gravely,  while  her  face  was  fairly  radiant.  "  Just  at 
the  time,  too,  when  your  son  was  born,  and  when  his 
future  ought  to  be  of  the  first  consequence  to  you. 
You  have  set  him  a  very  bad  example  ! " 

"  This  child,  who,  I  believe,  is  just  three  months  old, 
is  too  young,  I  fancy,  to  appreciate  my  confidences, 
were  I  to  make  them  to  him,  and  I  doubt  if  they 
would  prevent  similar  errors  in  him  either,"  answered 
the  young  father,  with  a  smile,  "  but  I  have  done  with 
this  sort  of  thing,  I  assure  you.  I  have  been  in  such  a 
state  of  anxiety  that  I  could  not  speak  to  you  with 
frankness.  I  hoped  every  moment  to  repair  my  losses, 
and  for  a  time  I  only  succeeded  in  increasing  them.  I 
assure  you  I  was  afraid  of  you.  Yes,  Blanche,  afraid 
of  you.  I  said  to  myself,  that  were  I  alone  with  you  I 
certainly  could  not  keep  silent,  and  it  would  be  a  terri- 
ble humiliation  to  admit  that  I  had  been  guilty  of 
such  imprudence.  Tell  me,  do  you  forgive  me?" 

Blanche  threw  herself  into  her  husband's  arms. 

"  Ah !  "  she  whispered,  "  I  have  suffered  so  horribly  I 
I  thought  you  had  ceased  to  love  me  !  " 


AWAKENING.  75 

"What  folly,''  answered  Guy,  with  a  kiss.  "How 
could  I  cease  to  love  you  ?  " 

Blanche  pushed  aside  her  hair — which  had  had  so 
narrow  an  escape  a  few  minutes  before, — and  Guy 
mechanically  began  to  wind  it  around  his  wrist,  as  he 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing. 

"  Listen  to  me  one  moment,"  she  said.  "  Let  me 
give  you  a  bit  of  advice,  and  exact  a  promise  from 
you.  The  trial  through  which  you  have  come  is  not 
of  the  kind  which  purifies — quite  the  contrary.  I  do 
not  wish  to  reproach  you,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  if 
you  had  some  serious  occupation  you  would  not  waste 
time  and  money  in  this  way.  I  beg  of  you,  Guy,  out 
of  love  for  me,  make  up  your  mind,  from  this  day,  to 
be  something  or  some  one." 

"  I  ask  nothing  better,"  answered  Monsieur  de 
Dreux,  evasively ;  "  we  will  see  what  can  be  done." 

"No,  no,  that  means  bye-and-bye — I  mean  at  once. 
Do  you  wish  to  enter  diplomacy  ?  Or  do  you  prefer 
politics?  Will  you  be  an  Ambassador  or  Deputy? 
Take  your  choice  ?  " 

"  Heavens !  how  you  do  gallop  on,"  cried  Guy,  with 
a  hearty  laugh.  "As  to  becoming  an  ambassador,  I 
reject  the  offer  at  once ;  I  should  much  prefer  to 
remain  at  home  than  to  expatriate  myself.  But  do 
you  imagine  that  one  becomes  a  Deputy  in  that  sum- 
mary fashion  ?  " 

"  No  my  friend,  such  a  step  is  taken  by  degrees." 

"  But,  my  dear,  who  would  write  my  speeches  ?  I 
am  not  eloquent  by  nature,  I  can't  do  it." 


76  AWAKENING. 

Blanche  thought  of  the  paper  in  her  desk,  and  felt 
that  her  husband  was  right. 

"  You  speak  well,"  she  said,  in  some  confusion,  bury- 
ing her  face  oil  Guy's  shoulder,  "and  I  should  be 
glad  to  give  you  any  assistance  in  my  power,  if  you 
would  permit  me.  At  school  I  was  thought  very 
clever  in  such  things,  and  my  memory  in  regard  to 
history  is  quite  wonderful.  You  have  memory  too, 
and  between  us  we  shall  manage  it.  What  do  you 
say?" 

"  With  all  my  heart ! "  answered  Guy,  as  he  put  his 
arms  around  her. 

Blanche- gave  up  all  idea  of  cutting  her  hair. 

The  next  morning  at  breakfast  Guy  was  very  silent, 
and  as  he  poured  out  a  glass  of  Clos  Vongeot  he  said 
to  himself :  "  Yesterday  I  got  through  all  right;  but 
heaven  only  knows  what  I  can  say  to  her  the  next 
time." 


FIVE    TEARS    LATER.  7/ 

CHAPTER   VI. 

FIVE     YEARS     LATER. 

"  TTTHO  is  that  passing  at  the  foot  of  the  avenue?" 
T  T  asked  Madame  Praxis,  laying  down  her  eye- 
glass in  despair. 

Blanche  de  Dreux  leaned  a  little  forward  in  order 
to  see.  A  faint  color  rose  to  her  cheeks  and  she  sank 
back  with  an  air  of  indifference,  and  looking  off  toward 
the  sea  glittering  in  the  sunlight, 

"It  is  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,"  she  answered. 

"  I  wonder  if  he  will  be  here  to-day !  It  is  a  week 
since  I  saw  him.  He  neglects  rne  sadly,"  said  the  old 
Countess,  fanning  herself.  "  A  Minister  away  on  a 
holiday,  ought  not  to  be  very  much  occupied." 

"  That  depends,"  said  Blanche,  her  eyes  still  fixed 
on  the  sea. 

The  Countess  Praxis  took  up  her  eye-glass  and 
turned  over  a  newspaper  with  an  air  of  annoyance. 
Ever  since  Monsieur  de  Dreux  had  been  interested  in 
politics,  his  wife  had  become  absolutely  insupportable. 
Before  that,  one  had  been  able  to  converse  with  her ; 
and  she  was  as  willing  to  chat  about  people  as  things. 
Now  it  was  totally  different;  proper  names  closed  her 
lips  hermetically  ;  no  more  interesting  gossip,  no  more 
pleasant  wondering,  no  more  social  problems  to  be  dis- 
cussed. But  really,  this  was  dullness  itself !  Had  she 


78  FIVE    YEARS    LATER. 

supposed  for  a  moment  that  dear  Blanche,  in  one  of 
the  loveliest  spots  on  the  whole  coast  of  Brittany, 
would  have  remained  as  silent  as  in  Paris,  the  good 
Comtesse  would  certainly  have  taken  care  not  to 
accompany  her  into  the  country.  Then,  too,  De 
Dreux  himself,  ever  since  he  had  been  made  a  Deputy, 
never  opened  his  lips  except  in  public. 

"Are  you  amused  here?"  asked  the  Comtesse, 
turning  hastily  to  her  young  friend. 

"Amused?  Not  the  least  in  the  world  !  "  answered 
Blanche,  in  her  calm  tone. 

"Ah!"  said  Madame  Praxis,  considerably  discon- 
certed. 

"  A  woman  who  is  the  wife  of  a  Deputy  is  never 
amused,"  said  Blanche,  with  a  faint  inflection  of  irony 
in  her  voice.  "  What  would  our  electors  say  if  that 
were  the  case !  We  must  be  serious,  dear  Comtesse, 
very  serious,  for  you  know  many  a  man's  official 
career  has  been  marred  by  his  wife's  frivolity." 

"  Many  more  men  have  been  ruined  by  their  own  !  " 
grumbled  the  Comtesse,  half  to  herself.  "  Look ! 
there  comes  Mullan — Mullan,  come  here,  that  I  may 
pull  your  ears !  " 

Mullan  bowed  from  a  distance,  and  in  order  to  show 
his  submission,  came  toward  the  old  lady  at  full  speed. 

The  five  years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  Horticul- 
tural Exposition  had  left  no  visible  traces  upon  him. 
At  thirty,  he  looked  several  years  older  than  he  really 
was,  but  at  forty-five  he  was  extremely  young  looking. 
He  approached  the  two  ladies,  and  seated  himself  on 


FIVE    TEAKS    LATER.  79 

a  low  tabouret  in  such  a  way  that  his  knees  nearly 
touched  his  chin. 

"Tell 'me,  you  wretch,  if  you  are  making  love  to 
that  pretty  little  innocent,  Madame  Lecomte  ?  Is  it 
you  who  are  trying  to  destroy  the — what  word  shall  I 
use  ?  it  is  not  happiness,  it  is  much  more  complicated. 
Ah  I  I  have  it,  equilibrium  is  the  word — well,  then, 
the  conjugal. equilibrium  of  this  charming  manage  com- 
posed of  a  savant  and  an  artless  little  girl.  Were  I 
you,  I  should  be  ashamed  to  attempt  anything  so  cruel 
and  so  immoral ! " 

"  Excuse  me,  dear  lady,  not  criminal,  not  immoral. 
Condescend  to  follow  my  feeble  reasoning  for  a  mo- 
ment. Madame  Lecomte  adores  her  husband,  who 
unquestionably  deserves  all  the  love  she  lavishes  upon 
him  ;  but  the  world  is  full  of  perverse  creatures  who  are 
quite  willing  to  commit  the  baseness  which  you  have 
just  attributed  to  me.  Now  these  perverse  beings  would 
not  hesitate  to  approach  even  the  adored  wife  of  an  illus- 
trious savant,  and  would  do  their  best  to  fill  her  ears 
with  their  poisonous  flattery.  I  act  as  a  lightning  rod 
to  this  excellent  Lecomte,  or  better  still,  I  am  his  watch- 
dog ;  I  watch  over  his  wife  and  try  to  amuse  her,  that 
she  may  not  be  tempted  to  seek  amusement  elsewhere." 

Madame  Praxis  gave  him  a  smart  blow  with  her 
fan.  Blanche  smiled  faintly,  although  she  had  heard 
hardly  a  word  of  what  had  been  said. 

"  You  see,"  continued  Mullan,  "  that  I  am  really  the 
most  unselfish  of  men.  There  is  nothing  I  would  not 
do  to  show  my  devotion.  Is  not  this  so,  Madame  ?  " 


80  FIVE    TEARS    LATER. 

Blanche  did  not  hear,  and  the  Countess  recalled  her 
wandering  attention. 

"Child!  what  are  you  thinking  about?  I  never 
saw  you  so  distraite  !  " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon  !  "  said  Blanche,  turning  toward 
her,  "  I  am  distraite,  but  I  intend  to  turn  over  a  new- 
leaf  and  be  more  sociable.  You  know  of  old  that  I 
am  subject  to  attacks  of  this  kind." 

"  Yes,  some  time  after  your  marriage.  I  remember 
them  perfectly,  but  I  have  seen  nothing  of  the  kind 
in  you  for  some  time ;  that  was  the  time  that  Mullau 
was  so  devoted  to  you." 

"  Heavens ! "  exclaimed  that  gentleman,  raising  his 
hands  despairingly.  "  How  can  you  say  such  a 
thing?" 

"Were  you  not  devoted  to  her?"  said  Madame 
Praxis,  quickly. 

"  Of  course  I  was.  I  was  always  devoted  to  Mad- 
ame de  Dreux,  and  I  am  so,  still,  and  shall  be  forever ! 
Do  you  wish  my  attentions  to  cease  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  have  transferred  your  homage  to 
Madame  Lecomte." 

"  One  does  not  bar  the  other,"  answered  Mullan, 
with  great  gravity. 

Presently  the  three  friends  began  to  laugh.  They 
were  old  friends — bound  together  by  one  of  thoso 
aggressive  friendships  which  last  all  through  life,  brief 
tempests  only  seeming  to  cement  them  more  closely. 

"  Those  were  charming  days,"  said  Mullan,  with  an 
exaggerated  sigh,  "  when  my  friend  De  Dreux  was 


FIVE    TEARS     LATER.  81 

merely  the  President  of  an  Horticultural  Society; 
when  his  discourse  fell  only  on  simple  provincial 
cases.  At  present  it  is  his  country  which  he  addresses ; 
it  is  to  his  Electors  that  he  teaches  social  truths." 

"  Then  you  do  not  consider  the  ears  of  his  Electors 
simple?  Heavens  and  earth  !  What  are  they  then?" 

"  Ah  !  dear  Comtesse,  the  orations  made  to  a  man's 
Electors  are  not  intended  for  them.  They  pass  over 
their  heads,  more  or  less  covered  with  their  cotton 
night-caps,  and  go  by  a  path  which  up  to  this  moment 
has  escaped  the  most  serious  search  made  by  savants 
and  philosophers,  into  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
where  you  will  notice  there  is  no  one  to  gather  them 
up.  They  are  gathered  up,  however,  and  the  result  is 
that  the  Deputy  becomes  a  great  man,  an  eminent 
man.  It  is  very  singular,  is  it  not  dear  Madame?  It 
is  an  acoustic  process,  which  would  make  the  fortune 
of  an  inventor  if  it  could  be  applied  under  all  circum- 
stances. If  our  friend  Lecomte  would  only  try  it ! " 

Blanche  frowned.  Mullan,  with  the  most  innocent 
air,  turned  toward  her  and  continued : 

"  These  dear  Electors !  Just  think  of  the  trouble 
one  takes  to  please  them !  You  yourself,  Madame, 
have  left  your  pretty  Chateau  de  Re'mecy  to  bury 
yourself  here — bury  is  not  the  word,  since  we  are  high 
enough  to  overlook  the  whole  country,  really  as  well 
as  figuratively, — but  it  is  a  sacrifice,  nevertheless,  and 
a  sacrifice  made  to  the  Electors,  for  otherwise  de  Dreux 
could  not  be  sure  of  being  renominated.  What  do 
you  think  about  it?" 
5 


82  FIVE    TEARS    LATER. 

"  I  really  do  not  know,"  answered  Blanche,  wearily. 
"  I  understand  nothing  of  politics." 

Mull  an  glanced  at  Madame  Praxis.  There  was  a 
world  of  malicious  meaning  in  his  eyes.  Blanche  did 
not  notice  it.  The  children  were  approaching  with 
their  English  nurse.  Edmond,  very  tall  of  his  age, 
led  by  the  hand  his  two-year-old  sister,  and  the 
mother's  eyes  turned  from  one  to  the  other  with  that 
contented  look,  which  is  the  highest  expression  of  hap- 
piness. She  was  a  happy  mother.  This  any  one  could 
see  at  a  glance. 

The  children  were  soon  sent  back  to  their  play,  and 
Madame  de  Dreux  rose  to  return  to  the  house,  for  the 
dinner  hour  was  near  at  hand  ;  but  before  she  left  the 
terrace  she  stood  looking  off  once  more  at  the  ocean, 
which  had  for  her  an  intense  fascination. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  passed  at  this  moment,  and 
raised  his  hat  to  her  with  marked  respect. 

She  returned  his  salutation,  and  slowly  turned  away. 

"  What  a  singular  woman  she  is  !  "  said  the  Comtesse 
Praxis,  who  followed  her  more  slowly,  leaning  on  the 
protecting  arm  of  Monsieur  Mullan.  "Do  you 
remember  how  brilliant  she,  as  a  young  girl,  promised 
to  be?  What  immense  vitality  she  had,  and  what 
spirits.  All  that  seems  to  have  vanished ;  she  has 
faded  like  an  old  pastel  ! " 

"  There  is  a  fire  sleeping  under  the  cinders,  though," 
answered  Mullan.  "  What  would  you  have,  Comtesse  ? 
It  is  not  her  fault :  she  loves  her  husband !  " 


EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON.  83 

CHAPTER  VII. 

EXPLANATIONS     AND     PARDON. 

A  GAY  cavalcade  entered  the  court-yard  of  the 
chateau  as  the  clock  struck  six.  This  cavalcade 
consisted  of  Monsieur  and  Madame  Lecomte,  Madame 
Rovery,  a  plump  and  pretty  widow  of  thirty ;  her 
sister  Amy,  who  was  generally  called  Amy  Robsart,  in 
remembrance  of  Walter  Scott;  two  young  neighbors, 
who  were  nice  fellows  and  good  riders,  and  finally 
Guy  himself. 

Guy  de  Dreux  was  handsomer  than  ever,  and  far 
more  dignified,  for  he  was  heavily  borne  down  with 
his  new  responsibilities,  and  showed  only  too  plainly 
that  such  was  the  case.  He  was  born  to  be  happy,  to 
live  a  careless,  idle  life — to  raise  stock  or  plant  cab- 
bages, according  to  the  height  of  the  step  of  the 
ladder  on  which  fortune  might  have  seen  fit  to  place 
him — and  nothing  in  the  world  was,  or  could  be  more 
distasteful  to  him  than  to  occupy  himself  with  the 
affairs  of  the  nation. 

"  The  Deputy  in  spite  of  himself,"  as  Mullan  called 
him,  much  to  the  disgust  of  Blanche,  but  greatly  to 
Guy's  amusement. 

To  Guy's  amusement  at  first,  but  after  a  couple  of 
years  had  elapsed,  a  reserved  smile  had  taken  the  place 
of  the  hearty  laugh,  with  which  he  had  greeted  his 


84  EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON. 

friend's  witticism.  Mulan  was  not  pleased  at  this 
innovation. 

"  You  have  good  teeth,  show  them  !  "  said  that  gen- 
tleman, who  had  a  good  deal  of  the  Don  Quixote 
about  him. 

He  was  a  Don  Quixote  and  half  a  Sancho  Panza, 
not  so  unusual  a  combination  as  may  be  supposed. 
His  first  impulse  was  always  chivalric,  his  second 
reflective,  or  rather  prosaic,  but  having  neither  wife 
nor  children,  nor  any  near  relatives  to  interfere  in  his 
affairs,  and  disturb  him  with  their  advice,  he  trusted 
to  his  sense  of  honor  in  all  matters  of  conscience.  He 
was  on  the  steps  when  the  riding  party  entered  the 
court-yard,  and  at  once  hurried  to  take  the  bridle  of 
the  horse  ridden  by  Madame  Lecomte,  who  gave  him 
a  gentle  smile  of  thanks  as  she  dismounted. 

Guy  occupied  himself  with  Madame  Rovery,  as  was 
his  habit  that  year.  The  two  young  neighbors  disputed 
for  Miss  Amy's  favor,  who  sat  on  her  pretty  chestnut 
mare  watching  them,  with  a  provoking  little  smile. 

But  as  a  woman  can't  always  remain  on  a  chestnut 
mare,  M-iss  Amy  finally  accepted  the  assistance  of  the 
younger  of  the  two  men,  while  the  richer  of  the  two 
disengaged  her  long  skirt.  She  gave  them  each  some- 
thing to  do,  therefore  both  should  have  been  satisfied. 
They  all  moved  toward  their  rooms,  laughing  and 
talking  as  they  went.  Guy,  himself,  had  forgotten  a 
speech  he  was  preparing,  and  talked  with  Madame 
Rovery  with  an  air  of  careless  ease  which  had  become 
of  late  somewhat  unusual  with  him. 


EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON.  85 

In  the  hall  they  met  Blanche,  who  had  just  come 
in  ;  she  was  leading  a  child  by  each  hand,  and  was 
taking  them  to  the  nursery  for  their  supper,  which 
ceremony  always  took  place  under  her  own  eyes. 

This  apparition  cast  a  certain  chill  over  this  gay 
band.  The  two  young  men  went  to  the  salon,  and  the 
ladies  hastened  to  make  their  toilettes  for  dinner. 

It  was  never  especially  gay  at  the  Chateau  de 
Mesnil,  and  a  disinterested  observer  would  have 
asked  himself  what  could  bring  and  retain  there  so 
brilliant  a  circle. 

"  We  must  spend  the  summer  somewhere,"  said 
Blanche  to  her  husband.  "Your  Electors  will  be 
charmed  to  see  you  at  Mesnil.'' 

"  Then  let  us  take  as  many  people  with  us  as  possi- 
ble," Guy  answered,  for  he  had  no  real  love  for  the 
country,  and  found  it  unendurable  without  a  dozen  or 
more  guests. 

"Make  your  own  invitations,"  said  Blanche.  "I 
shall  take  the  Comtesse  Praxis ;  she  will  make  an 
excellent  chaperon." 

"  A  chaperon  for  you !  After  seven  years  of  mar- 
riage ! "  was  on  the  lips  of  de  Dreux.  But  with  a 
prudence  that  was  most  unusual  with  him,  but  which 
coincided  with  his  new  role  of  politician,  he  abstained, 
and  he  had  done  wisely.  The  Comtesse  Praxis  was 
indeed  a  good  chaperon,  if  not  for  Blanche,  who 
required  no  such  protection,  at  least  for  the  persons 
whom  Guy's  invitations  brought  to  the  chateau,  and 
to  keep  up  its  air  of  fashion  and  decorum. 


86  EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON. 

Mullan  must  go,  of  course.  They  could  not  live 
without  Mullan  in  a  place  like  this  on  the  sea-shore  of 
Brittany;  then  the  Lecomtes,  Blanche  must  write 
them  herself.  Madeline  was  pretty  and  Gerard  had 
become  quite  celebrated  in  the  last  few  years,  and  made 
a  very  agreeable  companion ;  and  in  the  gaming  season 
was  especially  desirable,  as  he  was  a  wonderful  shot. 

"  There  are  two  or  three  men  in  the  vicinity,"  Guy 
said.  He  remembered  having  seen  some  two  years 
before — two  collegians,  who  by  this  time  must  have 
developed  into  men  who  could  be  made  useful. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  too,  had  recently  purchased 
an  estate  not  very  far  away. 

"  I  am  sure  I  can't  imagine  why,"  said  Guy,  "  as  he 
is  a  Minister.  He  will  not  be  obliged  to  remain  in  the 
country  to  flatter  his  constituents.  I  should  like  to 
have  bought  property  near  Chantilly  or  Rambouillet, 
myself.  Anywhere,  indeed,  that  was  habitable.  But 
after  all,  every  one  to  his  taste !  " 

Thus,  so  far  as  men  were  concerned,  Le  Mesnil  was 
amply  provided.  It  was  the  women  who  were  lacking. 
The  Comtesse  Praxis  did  not  count;  Madeline,  absorbed 
in  her  husband,  was  equally  unavailable.  Blanche — 
but  Blanche  was  his  wife.  These  women  could  not 
make  a  very  brilliant  circle. 

Guy  came  in  one  day  from  the  Chamber;  it  was  the 
last  week  of  the  session.  He  was  in  the  best  of  spirits. 

"Just  think  of  it,"  he  said  to  his  wife,  "in  the 
Tribune,  during  a  most  dreary  speech  in  relation  to 
the  law  on  cereals — " 


EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON.  87 

"Did  you  speak?"  interrupted  Madame  de  Dreux. 

"  I?  "  said  the  Deputy,  in  great  surprise,  "no,  indeed, 
why  should  I  ?  I  never  should  have  thought  of  it." 

With  a  sigh  of  relief,  Blanche  made  a  sign  for  him 
to  continue. 

"  Well !  as  I  was  saying,  during  this  interminable 
discourse,  I  looked  up  and  down  the  Tribune  for 
amusement,  and  whom  did  I  see  but  Madame  Rovery ; 
she  wore  a  rose-colored  hat,  and  her  sister  a  white  one. 
They  were  as  pretty  as  pinks,  I  assure  you.  She  has 
given  up  her  mourning,  you  know?" 

"  I  supposed  so,  as  you  spoke  of  a  rose-colored  hat." 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure,  I  beg  your  pardon.  When  I  came 
out  I  met  them  ;  it  was  odd,  was  it  not?  They  asked 
where  we  intended  to  spend  the  summer.  I  asked 
them  the  same  question  ;  they  had  not  decided.  They 
said  they  adored  the  sea,  and  then — " 

"  You  invited  them  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  do  you  object  ?  " 

"  Not  altogether.  But  you  see  I  did  well  in  saying 
that  I  would  take  the  Comtesse  Praxis  as  chaperon. 
I  could  not  manage  those  two  ladies  alone." 

Guy  was  somewhat  embarrassed.  He  had  felt  when 
the  invitation  was  given  that  his  wife  would  be  dis- 
pleased, but  he  relied  on  her  sweetness  of  temper  and 
her  politeness  not  to  manifest  this  displeasure.  He 
began  a  stammering  apology,  which  Blanche  inter- 
rupted with  a  smile. 

"I  knew  that  you  would  invite  these  or  others  of 
the  same  style,"  she  said,  "for  you  like  the  society  of 
brilliant  and  somewhat  coquettish  women." 


88  EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON. 

"  You  must  forgive  them  for  those  deficiencies,  and 
excuse  the  great  contrast  offered  by  their  manners  to 
yours,  my  dear,"  said  De  Dreux,  gallantly.  "  You  are 
far  too  perfect  for  this  world — all  women  cannot  be 
like  you." 

Blanche  accepted  this  compliment  with  one  of  those 
enigmatical  smiles  which  invariably  made  her  husband 
uncomfortable.  But  he  soon  shook  off  this  feeling, 
for  he  had  got  what  he  wanted. 

Madame  Rovery  determined  to  make  amends  to  her- 
self for  the  six  years  of  seclusion  necessitated  by  her 
marriage  to  a  splenetic  Englishman,  and  was  quite 
ready  to  accept  the  homage  of  such  a  charming  young 
man  as  Guy.  Her  sister,  Amy,  who  kept  her  in  coun- 
tenance, had  no  more  illusions.  They  installed  them- 
selves in  triumph  at  Mesnil  without  thinking  or  caring 
whether  their  coming  displeased  the  mistress  of  the 
establishment  or  not.  They  were  quite  sure  of  being 
amused,  for  they  carried  about  with  them  an  atmos- 
phere of  dissipation  which  made  them  joy,  and  out 
of  which  they  could  not  exist. 

The  dinner  was  very  gay,  as  was  usually  the  case. 
Blanche  had  at  her  right  Gerard  Lecomte,  who  talked 
of  a  thousand  interesting  things;  Madeline,  opposite, 
listened  with  ears  and  eyes  to  their  discreet  conversa- 
tion, interrupted  from  time  to  time  by  noisy  appeals 
from  the  other  guests.  Madeline  was  happy  when  she 
could  not  have  her  husband  next  herself,  to  know  that 
he  was  near  Madame  de  Dreux.  About  Blanche  there 
was  an  atmosphere  of  serenity ;  she  was  never  guilty 


EXPLANATIONS     AND    PARDON.  89 

of  the  smallest  coquetry;  she  was  honest  and  true, 
while  her  melancholy  was  looked  upon  as  reserve. 

Just  as  the  servants  were  about  to  retire,  as  usual, 
after  placing  dessert  upon  the  table,  Guy  exclaimed, 
imprudently : 

"Ah  !  my  friends,  this  is  our  last  night -of  folly !  " 

"Why  is  that?"  asked  Miss  Amy,  with  a  smile  that 
displayed  the  loveliest  teeth  in  the  world.  She  was 
French,  like  her  sister ;  but  as  the  latter  had  married 
an  Englishman,  Amy  felt  it  incumbent  upon  her  to 
imitate  English  manners,  and  even  to  adopt  a  slight 
foreign  accent. 

"  Is  it  not  to-morrow  that  your  guardian — or  our 
guardian,  I  should  say — is  coming  to  pay  us  his  annual 
visit  ?  "  asked  Guy,  addressing  his  wife. 

She  bowed  an  assent,  but  did  not  speak. 

"  And  you  must  be  very  solemn,  Miss  Amy,  and 
you,  also,  Madame,"  Guy  continued,  speaking  to  Mad- 
eline, who,  instead  of  replying,  laughed  in  his  face- 
that  being  one  of  her  favorite  arguments.  "  We 
must,  all  of  us,"  continued  De  Dreux,  "  be  on  our 
good  behavior,  otherwise  we  shall  have  bad  marks, 
and  we  all  of  us  know  that  would  be  a  very  sad 
thing."  . 

Madame  Rovery  laughed,  and  the  two  youthful 
neighbors  did  the  same,  as  did  Miss  Amy.  Madeline 
looked  at  Blanche,  and  laughed  no  more.  She  felt 
that  her  friend  was  displeased.  A  slight  constraint 
followed  this  hilarity,  and  Blanche  rose  from  the  table. 

The   ladies   all   followed   her    to   the   salon,  where 


90  EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON. 

Miss  Amy  seated  herself  at  the  piano  to  play  some 
dancing  airs. 

"No  dancing  after  dinner!"  said  Madeline,  with  a 
little  imperious  air,  "  but  you  may  have  a  cup  of  coffee, 
if  you  want  it  very  much." 

The  coffee  was  served  by  Madame  Rovery's  pretty 
hands ;  that  lady  had  found  this  an  excellent  way  of 
approaching  her  fair  hostess  at  least  once  each  day. 
Madame  de  Dreux  filled  the  cups,  and  the  widow 
standing  by  her  side  took  them  away  with  gay  little 
remarks ;  Miss  Amy  took  the  sugar  bowl,  and  the  two 
sisters  made  the  tour  of  the  room,  after  which  their 
intercourse  ended  with  Blanche  until  the  next  even- 
ing. Having  accomplished  this  daily  and  self-ap- 
pointed duty,  which  she  regarded  as  sufficient  compen- 
sation for  all  the  hospitality  shown  her  by  Blanche, 
Madame  Rovery  went  to  the  piano  in  her  turn.  She 
had  a  charming  voice,  which  she  used  in  singing  light 
opera  music — Opera  Bouffe  was  not  then  invented — 
had  it  been,  she  would  have  sung  nothing  else.  After 
an  hour  or  more  she  left  the  piano,  and  sank  back  into 
a  low  basket-chair  standing  near  the  long  window 
leading  out  upon  the  terrace.  By  this  manoeuvre  she 
was  a  little  away  from  the  salon.  The  young  men 
crowded  about  her,  Guy  among  them,  as  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say. 

"And  now,"  said  Gerard  Lecomte,  softly,  "a  little 
music,  if  you  please  !" 

Blanche  shook  her  head ;  she  was  too  tired  to  play, 
she  said.  Madeline  went  to  the  piano,  opened  an  old 


EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON.  91 

book  of  sonatas,  and  began  one  of  those  exquisite 
works  which  never  grow  old,  and  which  combine  to 
those  who  know  how  to  understand  them,  all  that  is 
most  delightful  in  musical  art. 

"  Ah !  my  dear  child,"  said  the  Comtesse,  who  was 
insane  on  the  subject  of  music,  "you  make  me  feel 
half  a  century  younger." 

Mullan  stood  leaning  against  the  piano.  He,  too, 
loved  such  music,  and  appreciated  it. 

The  friends  listened  for  a  long  time  to  Madeline. 
She  had  found  in  her  piano  another  way  of  conversing 
with  her  husband,  while  robbing  him  of  none  of  his 
precious  time.  When  she  found  that  he  loved  music 
with  a  deep  and  passionate  devotion,  she  had  culti- 
vated her  talent,  which  she  had  hitherto  regarded  as  a 
mere  accomplishment,  and  became  a  scientific  student. 
Gerard  worked  on  without  listening,  but  not  without 
hearing,  and  many  a  time,  when  she  interpreted  a 
passage  with  her  whole  soul,  he  would  lift  his  head 
and  exchange  one  look  with  his  wife.  These  looks 
were  Madeline's  greatest  reward.  They  were  worth 
to  her  more  than  the  noisy  applause  of  a  salon  full  of 
people. 

The  young  people  had  deserted  the  terrace.  The 
night  was  perfect  and  the  garden  very  lovely  in  the 
moonlight.  Mullan,  a  little  uneasy  when  he  missed 
De  Dreux,  stole  away  during  the  music  and  went  on 
an  exploring  expedition  around  the  chateau.  He 
came  back  with  little  satisfaction,  but  as  he  came  up 
the  steps  he  heard  the  gay  laughter  of  the  little  party 
who  had  just  returned  from  their  saunter  in  the  garden. 


92  EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON. 

One  glance  showed  him  that  Madame  Rovery  was 
among  them,  but  Guy  de  Dreux  was  not.  As  Mullan 
crossed  the  hall  on  his  way  to  the  salon,  a  form  rose 
from  a  sofa  in  the  corner. 

It  was  Guy,  who  rubbed  his  eyes  with  a  despairing 
gesture. 

"What!  have  you  been  asleep?"  asked  his  friend, 
reproachfully. 

"  I  have,  indeed.  Zounds  !  Is  it  my  fault  ?  That 
classical  music  always  sends  me  to  sleep.  Little 
Rovery  is  sulking  because  I  refused  to  gratify  one  of 
her  caprices,  and  I  went  to  sleep  because  I  really  had 
nothing  else  to  do.  But  we  shall  soon  be  friends 
again." 

Mullan  was  sorely  tempted  to  say  something  ex- 
tremely disagreeable,  but  Guy  lounged  toward  the 
salon,  and  Blanche  might  have  heard. 

Blanche  had  heard ;  it  was  not  her  fault,  but  the 
hearing  of  some  persons  is  so  delicate  that  they  catch 
the  most  distant  sounds.  Those  who  knew  her  well, 
who  had  studied  her  peculiarities  and  loved  her,  had 
noticed  this  quality.  Her  husband  was  entirely  un- 
aware of  this,  however,  consequently  she  had  more 
than  once  heard  things  not  intended  for  her,  but  he 
regarded  this  as  an  accident  and  a  coincidence. 

He  entered  the  salon  a  little  dazzled  by  the  light, 
coming,  as  he  did,  from  the  semi-darkness  of  the  hall, 
where  he  had  been  asleep ;  Madeline  left  the  piano, 
while  Madame  Praxis  enthusiastically  exclaimed  that 
she  had  never  heard  anything  finer.  Blanche  glanced 


EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON.  93 

at  her  husband,  and  almost  imperceptibly  shrugged  her 
shoulders. 

'•  What  would  you  have  ?  "  he  answered.  "  You 
know  that  heavy  music — " 

"  Yes,  I  know — you  like  only  comic  operas,"  she 
replied,  with  the  enigmatical  smile  that  so  puzzled  and 
worried  her  husband.  "A  man,"  she  continued,  "to 
whom  the  interests  of  his  country  are  confided  has 
a  right  to  rest  instead  of  listening  to  music  which 
the  rest  of  us  call  classic.  I  am  afraid,  however,  that 
you  will  not  sleep  much  to-night." 

As  Blanche  spoke  she  lifted  her  eyes ;  they  fell  on 
Madame  Rovery,  who  stood  in  the  doorway,  her  fair 
face  slightly  flushed,  her  eyes  unnaturally  bright,  and 
her  hair  gracefully  dishevelled.  Blanche  turned  from 
this  woman  to  her  husband  with  some  disdain.  Guy 
started.  Did  she  suspect  ? 

But  his  wife's  eyes  resumed  their  habitual  expression. 

"Do  not  forget,"  she  said,  "that  Monsieur  de  Gros- 
mont  will  be  here  by  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He 
likes  to  travel  at  night,  and  so  avoid  the  dust." 

"  Good  Heavens  !  "  cried  Madame  Praxis,  "  was 
there  ever  such  a  man  ! " 

"  But  if  you  don't  do  that,"  said  Mullan,  "  you  must 
sleep  at  an  inn." 

"  Which  I  will  never  do  !  "  answered  the  Comtesse. 
"  Sleep  in  a  strange  bed  and  a  strange  place,  where 
one  might  be  assassinated." 

"Then  ask  De  Dreux  to  build  you  a  railroad — that 
is  the  present  craze." 


94  EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON. 

"  The  new  road  is  to  pass  by  here,"  said  De  Dreux, 
carelessly ;  "  my  predecessor  obtained  that  concession." 

"When  will  this  road  be  built?"  asked  Miss  Amy, 
in  a  sleepy  tone. 

"In  two  years,  I  fancy,"  answered  Guy,  stifling  a 
yawn.  "  I  beg  ten  thousand  pardons,  but  I  am  utterly 
used  up  to-night." 

Good  nights  were  exchanged,  and  the  procession  of 
guests  took  their  way,  candles  in  hand,  up  the  wide 
staircase.  Good  nights  were  repeated  at  the  doors  of 
the  various  rooms.  Blanche  stopped  at  hers. 

•"  Do  not  forget,"  she  said  to  her  husband,  as  he 
kissed  her  hand,  "  that  you  have  promised  to  visit  the 
new  school  at  Messul.  You  have  an  appointment  with 
the  mayor  at  one  o'clock." 

"  True  !  "  answered  Guy,  "  I  had  forgotten  all  about 
it.  You  are  wrong,  Blanche,  in  praising  my  memory; 
it  is  merely  parrot-like;  you  are  my  inspiration." 

Madame  de  Dreux  smiled,  but  the  smile  was  a  brief 
one.  On  the  threshold  of  her  door,  at  the  other  end 
of  the  corridor,  she  saw  Madame  Roveny  talking  with 
her  sister;  she  seemed  to  find  it  impossible  to  leave  her. 

"I  wonder  what  long  story  that  good  man,  the 
mayor,  will  pour  into  my  ear,"  said  Guy,  carelessly. 

"  Good  night,"  answered  Blanche,  abruptly  ending 
the  conversation,  which  threatened  to  continue  for- 
ever. She  entered  her  room  and  closed  her  door. 

It  was  long  that  night  before  she  slept.  Her  mind 
was  filled  with  harassing  cares.  She  had  gone  at  onue 
to  bed,  however,  hoping  to  find  rest  if  not  sleep. 


EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON.  95 

As  she  began  to  feel  a  little  drowsy,  she  suddenly 
heard  a  slight  sound,  like  the  creaking  of  a  door. 
Always  uneasy  about  her  children,  she  listened  breath- 
lessly. 

A  soft  step  in  the  corridor,  passing  her  door,  she 
heard  distinctly.  No  one  else  would  have  distin- 
guished it  among  the  vague  echoes  which  compose  the 
silence  of  the  night,  in  a  house  occupied  by  many 
persons. 

A  door  opening  and  closing  softly  again ;  then 
all  was  still,  and  she  dropped  her  head  upon  her 
pillow. 

"  She,  or  another ! "  she  said  to  herself,  repeating 
almost  the  words  she  had  used  to  her  husband  the  day 
he  had  told  her  of  his  invitation  to  Madame  Rovery  to 
pass  the  summer  at  Mesnil.  "  What  did  it  matter — " 

She  did  not  dare  finish  her  thought.  Five  years 
before,  when  she  vaguely  suspected  her  husband's  first 
infidelity,  her  heart  was  nearly  broken,  but  afterwards 
she  had  gone  through  with  so  much  of  a  similar  char- 
acter that  now  on  each  new  occasion  she  was  no  longer 
overwhelmed. 

Blanche  was  one  of  those  natures  which  never  sur- 
render: some  of  these  die  in  their  harness,  others 
struggle  with  destiny  all  through  long  lives,  undis- 
mayed and  unconquered. 

After  the  temporary  happiness  which  had  accom- 
panied her  husband's  entrance  into  the  new  career 
where  she  had  thrust  him,  had  come  a  most  painful 
season — a  very  autumn  of  her  married  life.  It  was, 


96  EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON. 

however,  more  like  winter  than  autumn.  After  this 
Blanche  did  not  brighten  again ;  her  illusions  had  all 
vanished. 

When  this  state  of  mind  arrived,  Madame  de  Dreux 
was  no  longer  the  yonng  and  ignorant  woman  whom 
Guy  had  so  readily  deceived.  She  no  longer  believed. 
Very  little  clairvoyance  was  required  to  show  her  that 
Gay's  indifference  coincided  with  the  introduction 
into  their  circle  of  a  very  charming  woman,  whose 
husband's  business  called  him  constantly  away  from 
home. 

Blanche  acquired  condemnatory  proof  of  her  hus- 
band's intimacy  with  this  lady.  When  one's  suspi- 
cions are  aroused,  the  petty  accidents  of  life  are  never 
long  in  bringing  you  these  proofs. 

Too  proud  to  complain,  too  profoundly  wounded  to 
longer  love  this  man,  who  so  perpetually  deceived  her, 
and  for  a  woman  who  was  considerably  older  and  far 
less  beautiful  than  herself,  Blanche  felt  utterly  discour- 
aged. Her  strength  gave  way  under  her  depression  of 
spirits,  and  she  became  so  seriously  ill  that  her  life 
was  despaired  of.  If  she  lived,  it  was  because  she 
had  a  son  who  needed  her. 

When  she  began  to  recover,  and  perceived  her  hus- 
band constantly  at  her  side,  and  day  after  day  beheld 
him  ready  to  gratify  her  every  caprice,  she  was  still 
more  discouraged. 

"He  loves  me,"  she  said  to  herself;  "he  loves  me 
as  much  as  he  is  capable  of  loving,  and  yet  it  does  not 
prevent  him  from  loving  elsewhere !  What  a  weak 


EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON.  97 

nature !  How  inconstant  and  unprincipled !  And  I 
have  loved  him  so  faithfully  that  I  have  made  a  very 
God  of  him.  Alas !  there  is  little  of  a  God  about 
him,  except  in  his  exterior." 

Guy  knew  very  well  what  had  occasioned  the  illness 
of  his  wife.  He  had  always  mentally  accused  her  of 
being  nervous  and  susceptible.  A  grave  illness  suc- 
ceeding such  a  discovery  as  she  had  made,  did  not 
astonish  him.  As  he  was  a  kind-hearted  fellow,  and 
did  really  love  his  wife,  he  felt  that  an  explanation  was 
necessary. 

Taking  advantage  of  an  evening  when  Blanche  was 
feeling  in  better  health  and  spirits,  having  driven  out 
that  day  for  the  first  time  after  her  illness,  he  made  an 
ample  confession  to  her. 

"I  have  sinned  toward  you,"  he  said,  in  conclusion, 
"  but  Heaven  is  my  witness  that  I  know  not  why  I 
have  done  so.  I  feel  for  you,  my  beloved  wife,  the 
most  profound  tenderness ;  if  I  lost  you,  I  should  be 
inconsolable,  and  yet  I  afflict  you  !  Believe  me,  when 
I  say  that  I  have  always  supposed  you  to  be  in  perfect 
ignorance  of  my  shortcomings.  And  now,  dear 
Blanche,  unless  you  wish  me  to  be  absolutely  miser- 
able, you  will  forgive  me." 

He  spoke  with  some  warmth,  and  with  evidently 
sincere  affection.  Yes,  he  regretted  having  offended 
this  woman,  who  was  so  worthy  of  his  love ;  he 
deplored  his  error  with  entire  honesty.  Blanche  felt 
an  emotion  of  profound  pity. 

"  My  poor  husband,"  she  said,  placing  her  hands  on 
6 


98  EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON. 

her  husband's  shoulders,  "  you  love  me  as  well  as  you 
can.  I  know  that  very  well." 

She  looked  into  the  eyes,  which  spoke  so  eloquently 
of  repentance,  and  turned  away  her  head  that  he 
might  not  see  her  tears. 

"  You  will  forgive  me,  then ! "  cried  Guy,  kissing 
her  hand  eagerly,  "  Ah  !  how  good  you  are ;  you  are 
as  far  above  other  women  as  the  stars  are  above 
ourselves." 

Blanche  sighed  deeply.  It  was  very  nice  to  be  a 
star,  but  from  the  very  superiority  of  their  position 
the  stars  are  loved  very  rarely,  and  at  long  intervals. 
Upon  them  is  lavished,  from  time  to  time,  enthusiastic 
admiration,  but  their  companionship  is  not  earnestly 
sought  and  desired. 

For  some  few  weeks  Guy  seemed  almost  an  angel. 
His  usual  eloquence  was  doubled,  thanks  to  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  joy,  and  he  was  irresistible  to  all  whom 
he  met.  He  was  made  Deputy  in  the  most  unexpected 
manner,  and  almost  unanimously. 

"He  speaks  so  well!"  said  one.  "He  is  a  natural 
orator.  What  an  honor  for  us  to  be  represented  by  a 
man  of  such  talent  as  his !  " 

Blanche  triumphed.  Her  joy  was  but  brief.  The 
enthusiasm,  the  love  and  eloquence  of  her  husband, 
were  all  on  the  surface.  She  soon  acquired  the  melan- 
choly certainty  that  Guy  was  lacking  in  depth.  He 
was  a  man  of  impulse,  without  judgment,  and  without 
reflection,  in  the  same  way  that  his  dashing,  brilliant 
language  conveyed  no  meaning. 


EXPLANATIONS    AND    PARDON.  99 

"I  have  made  a  frightful  mistake,"  she  thought. 
"Instead  of  marrying  a  superior  man,  I  have  married 
a  most  ordinary  one.  My  error  is  irreparable,  but 
were  it  possible  to  remedy  it  I  would  never  admit 
strangers  into  the  secret  of  my  imprudence.  I  have 
chosen  my  lot ;  I  have  no  one  to  blame  but  myself. 
It  is  not  Guy's  fault  that  he  is  not  the  ideal  being  of 
whom  I  dreamed.  He  is  not  unkind  to  me  in  any 
way,  he  loves  me  after  his  own  fashion.  I  must  be  to 
him  a  devoted  wife,  instead  of  the  proud,  triumphant 
one,  I  had  hoped.  Ah !  Pride,  what  an  enemy  you 
are  to  happiness  !  " 

Pride  is  certainly  an  enemy  to  happiness,  but  some- 
times it  does  us  great  services,  and  to  Blanche  it  was 
a  saviour.  The  now  complimentary  remarks  she  heard 
made  upon  her  husband  determined  her  to  do  her  best 
to  make  the  world  consider  him  the  superior  person 
which  he  ought  to  have  been. 

After  a  time  it  was  not  enough  for  her  to  forgive  his 
deception,  so  far  as  she  herself  was  concerned  ;  she 
wished  him  to  be  admired,  envied  and  respected.  The 
first  article  which  attacked  her  husband  in  the  morning 
journals  brought  tears  of  joy  to  her  eyes. 

"  He  has  enemies,"  she  said,  "  he  must  therefore  be 
looked  upon  as  a  man  of  merit." 

But  Guy  was  not  quite  so  manageable  as  he  ought 
to  have  been  to  fill  so  difficult  a  role.  Hearing,  as  he 
constantly  did,  that  he  had  genius,  he  soon  began  to 
believe  it,  and  the  constant  advice  of  Blanche,  given 
as  it  was  with  the  greatest  prudence  aiid  sweetness, 


100      EXPLANATIONS  AND  PARDON. 

appeared  to  him  very  needless  and  almost  impertinent. 
He  wished  to  fly  with  his  own  wings,  and  as  they  were 
neither  those  of  an  eagle  nor  a  swan,  he  beat  the  air 
with  them  very  ineffectually  in  his  first  attempt.  For- 
tunately this  especial  blunder  was  not  generally  known, 
for  it  was  a  simple  little  speech  made  at  a  public  din- 
ner, in  regard  to  which  he  had  carefully  avoided  con- 
sulting his  wife.  In  the  days  of  which  we  write, 
which  are  even  now  afar  off,  reporters  were  unknown 
and  orators  were  generally  obliged  to  send  an  abridge- 
ment of  their  remarks  to  the  journal  of  the  vicinity. 
Mullan,  who  delighted  in  assisting  at  what  he  called 
"these  little  family  fetes,"  hastened  to  Blanche  with 
the  news  of  her  husband's  misadventure. 

"  I  do  not  know  where  the  trouble  was,"  he  said,  as 
he  finished  his  recital,  "but  all  at  once  he  began  to 
contradict  himself,  and  said  precisely  the  contrary  of 
what  he  had  promised  them  at  the  time  of  the  elec- 
tion. Of  course  it  was  a  mistake  on  his  part ;  fortu- 
nately, everybody  but  your  husband  and  myself  were 
intoxicated  more  or  less.  They  applauded  violently, 
which  did  not  astonish  me — for  Guy  speaks  so  well ! 
But  don't  let  him  print  his  speech—  look  out  for  that." 

The  next  day,  when  the  editor  of  the  local  news- 
paper went  to  Monsieur  de  Dreux  to  ask  him  for  the 
heads  of  his  speech  of  the  previous  evening,  he  carried 
away  with  him  a  profession  of  faith  corresponding  with 
that  issued  by  the  Deputy  at  the  time  of  his  election. 
This  time  Blanche  did  not  take  as  much  trouble  as 
usual  to  persuade  her  husband  that  it  was  from  himself 
that  his  fine  speeches  emanated. 


EXPLANATIONS  AND  PARDON.      101 

"  Your  memory  is  not  as  good  as  you  fancy,"  she 
said,  coldly,  "  or  at  all  events,  it  is  purely  superficial. 
A  Deput}'  ought  never  to  say  one  word  in  public  with- 
out referring  to  his  previous  speeches,  in  order  to  avoid 
not  only  repetitions,  but  also  that  which  is  a  much 
graver  matter — contradictions." 

"  Good  Heavens  !  "  cried  de  Dreux,  greatly  vexed. 
"  Would  you  have  me  keep  a  ledger,  and  look  over  it 
every  time  I  open  my  lips?  " 

"If  you  can't  trust  to  yourself,"  said  Blanche,  "I 
will  gladly  write  out  a  few  notes  for  you ;  but  you 
must  feel  that  it  were  much  better  that  you  should  do 
it  yourself,  for  I  know  nothing  of  politics,  and  I  find 
them,  I  fancy,  even  more  tiresome  than  you  do." 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life  Guy  had  a  vague  sus- 
picion that  his  wife  was  ridiculing  him.  But  as  such 
an  idea  was  eminently  disagreeable  to  him,  he  dis- 
missed it  at  once,  and  snatched  at  her  proposition,  so 
acceptable  to  an  indolent  man  like  himself. 

"  I  should  consider  it  the  greatest  possible  favor," 
he  answered,  graciously,  "if  you  would  do  as  you 
propose." 

"I  will  try,"  answered  his  wife,  "but  you  must  not 
be  vexed  if  I  give  it  up ;  it  may  be  that  such  a  task  is 
beyond  my  abilities." 

When  this  arrangement  was  concluded,  peace  reigned 
between  the  husband  and  wife.  Guy  had  before  this 
given  up  all  his  time  to  his  political  duties,  and  now 
that  these  were  delegated  to  his  wife,  he  permitted 
himself  some  relaxation,  some  little  excursions  out  of 
the  conjugal  domains. 


102       EXPLANATIONS  AND  PARDON. 

Blanche  was  well  aware  of  this,  but  said  nothing. 
As  she  could  not  make  over  her  husband's  character, 
what  was  the  good  of  fretting  him  with  reproaches? 
There  was,  besides,  to  her  eyes,  something  exceedingly 
vulgar  in  reproaches  and  in  the  bickering  to  which 
they  led. 

She  submitted  to  all  his  infidelities  without  a  word, 
even  when  Guy  in  his  penitence  sought  the  relief  of 
confession,  for  the  singular  part  of  his  character  was 
that  he  did  repent. 

Regret  for  his  past  fault  was  invariably  a  proof  that 
his  last  caprice  had  begun  to  lose  its  charm.  He 
redoubled  his  attentions  to  his  wife,  who  accepted 
them  in  silence. 

He  would  have  infinitely  preferred  that  she 
should  make  what  is  known  as  a  scene ;  her  magna- 
nimity was  very  disagreeable  to  him  and  puzzled 
him  greatly. 

"  You  sometimes  ought  to  reproach  me,"  he  said  to 
her  one  day,  just  before  they  went  to  Mesnil. 

"  Your  superiority  oppresses  me  and  your  for- 
giveness is  a  heavy  load  to  bear  when  you  accord 
it  in  such  a  way.  It  is  what  the  English  call 
heaping  coals  of  fire  on  the  head  of  one's  enemy. 
Do  you  look  upon  me  as  your  enemy,  my  dear 
Blanche  ?  " 

"I?  not  the  least  in  the  world." 

"  By  the  way,  have  you  seen  Madame  Rovery 
lately  ?  " 

Guy  bit  his  lips,  and  his  reply  was   not  especially 


EXPLANATIONS  AND  PARDON.      103 

amiable.     Nevertheless,   he  invited   Madame   Rovery 
and  her  sister  to  Mesnil  within  two  weeks. 

The  fact  was,  he  was  hourly  occupied  in  paving 
with  good  intentions  the  path  to  hell.  Fortunately 
for  him  his  wife  had  not  the  smallest  desire  to  hasten 
his  progress  there,  and  as  he  was  young,  she  hoped  that 
he  would  yet  have  time  for  repentance. 


104  A    GUARDIAN. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

A     GUABDIAN. 

MONSIEUR  DE  GROSMONT  arrived  at  the  hour 
named  by  Blanche.  He  was  an  extremely  punc- 
tual traveller,  who  exacted  equal  punctuality  from 
others.  Miss  Amy  displeased  him  from  the  moment 
he  looked  at  her,  merely  because  she  was  late  to  break- 
fast. But  as  he  was  an  extremely  well-bred  man,  he 
allowed  nothing  of  this  to  be  seen ;  his  former  ward 
was  the  only  one  to  suspect  it.  Madame  de  Grosmont 
had  been  dead  for  two  years.  Her  husband  had  loved 
her  just  enough  to  live  with  her  in  entire  harmony, 
but  not  enough  to  feel  any  poignant  grief  at  her  death. 
Besides,  he  was  passionately  fond  of  travelling,  while 
Madame  de  Grosmont  never  wished  to  leave  home. 

He  was  sixty  when  he  became  a  widower ;  he  was 
in  good  health  and  good  spirits,  and  to  the  great  joy 
of  his  servants,  spent  most  of  his  time  in  little  excur- 
sions, while  they  lived  in  lazy  luxury.  One  person, 
his  valet,  was  by  no  means  gratified,  as  he  greatly 
preferred  a  sedentary  life. 

At  dinner,  the  night  following  his  arrival,  it  was 
Madame  Rovery  who  was  waited  for.  The  two  sisters 
were  judged  accordingly  by  this  worthy  man  who 
knew  the  world. 

He  watched   them   attentively   through   the  whole 


A    GUARDIAN.  105 

repast,  and  afterward,  when  the  more  frivolous  guests 
assembled  a  little  apart  to  find  some  compensation  for 
the  constraint  which  so  severe  an  observer  imposed 
upon  them,  Monsieur  de  Grosmont  turned  to  Blanche. 

"  My  dear,"  he  said,  "  where  did  you  pick  up  these 
strange  acquaintances?" 

"  They  are  my  husband's,"  Blanche  was  about  to  say, 
in  her  eagerness  to  exculpate  herself,  but  she  checked 
herself. 

"They  are  very  agreeable  women,"  she  answered. 
"A  little  loud,  perhaps,  but  English  manners  justify 
their  laisser  oiler." 

"  They  are  English  then  ?  "  said  her  guardian. 

"  No,  they  are  French  by  birth,  but  they  have  lived 
much  in  England.  British  manners  you  know,  dear 
guardian — "  * 

"  I  have  nothing  to  say !  "  he  exclaimed,  lifting  his 
eyebrows  with  a  contemptuous  air.  "I  have  no  advice 
to  give  you  of  course,  Blanche,  but  I  must  say  that  it 
seems  to  me  in  a  house  like  this,  which  must  of  course 
be  a  very  noticeable  one,  that  you  ought  to  avoid  the 
society  of  flirtatious  women  like  these,  who  as  you 
must  admit  are  by  no  means  elegant  or  well  bred. 
They  have  nothing  in  common  with  you,  child — " 

"  Nor  with  my  friend  De  Dreux,"  Mullan,  who  was 
pretending  to  read,  took  it  upon  himself  to  say. 

Blanche  accepted  her  guardian's  sermon  with  every 
evidence  of  compunction. 

"You  are  right,"  she  said.  "I  ought  to  have 
thought  of  this.  I  assure  you,  in  Paris  no  one 


106  A    GUARDIAN. 

objected  to  them.  It  is  simply  that  they  allow  them- 
selves a  little  more  liberty  in  the  country.  I  will  try 
another  time  to  make  a  better  selection  of  my  guests." 

"  You  had  best  take  your  husband's  advice  on  such 
subjects,  my  dear,  for  I  am  quite  sure  that  had  he 
known  of  your  intentions  before  you  committed  your- 
self, that  he  would  never  have  permitted  you  to  give 
the  invitation." 

Mullan  looked  up  with  such  a  droll  expression  that 
Blanche  trembled ;  but  Mullan  was  too  well  bred  to 
interfere.  He  returned  to  his  Review  making  a  great 
rustle  with  his  paper-knife,  in  order  that  they  might 
not  forget  his  presence. 

"  By  the  way,  child,"  resumed  Monsieur  Grosmont, 
"  I  want  to  say  a  few  words  to  you  about  your  husband. 
You  remember,  of  course — for  I  hardly  dare  hope  that 
you  have  forgotten  it — how  opposed  I  was  to  your 
marriage  with  De  Dreux." 

Blanche  looked  at  her  guardian  with  a  troubled 
smile. 

He  continued. 

"I  thought  him  frivolous,  superficial;  in  short,  I 
entirely  misunderstood  his  character.  For  some  years 
now,  he  has  shown  me  how  entirely  I  underrated  his 
character,  and  he  promises  to  become  one  of  the 
important  men  of  our  times.  Just  as  formerly  I  felt 
it  my  duty  to  express  to  you  my  doubts  and  my  fears — 
even  my  dissatisfaction,  I  now  feel  it  to  be  my  duty, 
as  well  as  my  pleasure,  to  tell  you  of  my  new  impres- 
sions— which  this  time  are  settled  convictions." 


A    GUARDIAN.  107 

Blanche  had  listened  to  this  harangue  with  eyes  cast 
down,  and  with  considerable  confusion  of  mind.  It 
had  been  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  she  had 
succeeded  in  obtaining  the  consent  of  Monsieur  de 
Grosmont  to  her  marriage.  The  arguments  with  which 
he  then  opposed  her  wishes,  she  to-day  within  herself 
accepted  as  truths.  And  yet  she  was  proud  of  having 
her  husband  praised,  for  this  new  Guy  she  had  made 
with  her  own  hands.  It  was  she  who  had  breathed 
into  him  the  breath  of  life — she  alone  knew  the 
hollowness  of  this  idol,  and  the  vanity  of  all  its  glory. 
"Suppose  I  were  to  die  before  he  does!"  she  said  to 
herself,  suddenly  terrified  by  the  thought  that  the 
scaffolding  erected  with  such  painstaking  care  might 
suddenly  crumble  into  nothingness.  "People  would 
know  then  how  they  had  been  deceived  and  how  I  had 
passed  my  life  in  lying  to  the  world.  How  shameful 
this  would  be !  And  our  children,  what  would  they 
think  of  their  father?  What  would  they  think  of 
their  mother?  " 

"  Are  you  not  satisfied,  Blanche  ?  "  asked  Monsieur 
de  Grosmont.  "  Do  you  want  still  more  formal 
apologies  ?  " 

"  Forgive  me,  my  dear  guardian,"  answered  Madame 
de  Dreux,  "  I  was  so  touched  by  your  kind  words,  so 
gratified  by  the  feelings  which  dictated  them,  that  I 
could  not  at  first  reply.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
delightful  moments  of  my  life.  I  thank  you  with  my 
whole  heart." 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  laying  his  hand  affectionately  on 


108  A    GUARDIAN. 

that  of  the  young  wife.  "  I  know  very  well  how  much 
you  love  your  husband,  and  I  share  your  admiration 
for  his  talents  as  an  orator.  He  will  do  wonders,  this 
young  man,  he  will  do. wonders;  but  I  cannot  impress 
too  strongly  upon  your  mind,  child,  the  necessity  of 
watching  every  act  of  your  own,  and  of  being  most 
careful  in  the  circle  you  gather  about  you.  The  higher 
your  social  condition  the  greater  is  the  risk  you  run  of 
animadversion.  You  cannot  be  too  fastidious  and 
cautious." 

Gay  laughter  was  heard  from  the  piazza,  and  the 
Comtesse  Praxis  came  in  quite  out  of  breath. 

"They  are  mad,"  she  said  as  she  dropped  into  a 
chair,  "  mad,  I  assure  you.  They  compelled  me  to  run 
with  them.  Mullan !  why  were  you  not  there  to 
defend  me  ?  " 

The  young  man  came  forward  from  under  the 
shadow  of  the  wide  abat  jour  upon  the  lamp. 

"Ah!  Comtesse,"  he  said,  "do  me  the  justice  to 
believe  that  had  I  foreseen — but  De  Dreux  was  there, 
was  he  not?" 

"  No,  he  disappeared  as  soon  as  dinner  was  over." 

Mullan,  fearing  that  the  old  lady  might  make  some 
awkward  remark,  went  in.  search  of  his  friend,  whom 
he  found  enjoying  a  delightful  nap  in  a  tranquil  corner 
of  the  deserted  drawing-room. 

"  Have  you  formed  such  an  inveterate  habit  of  sleep- 
ing after  dinner  ?  "  said  Mullan,  crossly.  "  Little  did 
you  dream  of  the  panegyric  chanted  by  Monsieur  de 
Grosmont  upon  you.  I  can't  possibly  do  justice  to  it." 


A    GUARDIAN.  109 

"Yes,"  grumbled  de  Dreux,  "I  always  sleep  here 
when  I  find  it  stupid,  and  you  must  admit  that  our 
last  arrival  is  not  amusing." 

"Please  remember,  my  young  friend,  that  you  are 
the  man  of  the  future,  and  be  more  prudent  in  regard 
to  the  hours  you  select  for  your  siestas.  Had  you 
but  heard  what  he  said  to  Madame  de  Dreux !  You 
would  have  died  of  joy." 

"Poor  Blanche!  How  it  must  have  pleased  her!" 
said  Guy,  innocently. 

His  friend  looked  at  him  earnestly,  to  see  if  he  were 
jesting;  not  a  muscle  in  the  Deputy's  handsome  face 
twitched.  His  countenance  simply  expressed  the 
serene  contentment  of  a  man  who  has  just  enjoyed  a 
refreshing  slumber. 

"Well!  well!"  said  Mullan,  "this  is  indeed  a 
wonderful  state  of  things  !  " 

By  this  time  everybody  had  assembled  in  the  salon, 
where  there  was  a  good  deal  of  loud  laughter  and 
talking.  Madeline  seated  herself  by  the  side  of  Mon- 
sieur de  Grosmont,  with  whom  she  was  an  especial 
favorite  ;  but  all  the  tender  graces  and  sweet  ways  of 
this  fair  woman  were  lost  that  night  on  the  old  gen- 
tleman. 

His  attention  was  riveted  on  Madame  Rovery  and 
her  sister.  He  examined  them  much  as  if  they  had 
been  Japanese  monsters ;  they  seemed  to  puzzle  him 
greatly. 

After  a  half  hour  of  this  earnest  attention,  he  rose 
and  made  his  excuses,  saying  that  he  was  greatly 


110  A    GUARDIAN. 

fatigued.  Guy  offered  to  go  with  him  to  his  room, 
and  his  services  were"  accepted  with  considerable 
enthusiasm. 

At  the  head  of  the  stairs,  as  the  old  gentleman  stood 
before  his  door,  he  turned  to  Guy. 

"  Look  here,  my  young  friend,"  he  said  in  a  paternal 
tone,  "  I  have  been  saying  a  few  words  to  your  wife, 
who,  I  fear,  did  not  attach  to  my  words  the  import- 
ance they  deserve,  and  I  therefore  address  myself  to 
you  as  the  head  of  the  family.  Do  not  allow  Blanche 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  women  like  this  English- 
woman and  her  sister ;  such  persons  injure  the  tone  of 
a  house." 

Guy  listened  in  some  discomfort ;  he  did  not  know 
what  was  coming.  Monsieur  de  Grosmont  continued : 

"Manage  to  dismiss  those  two  brazen-faced  women; 
they  have  no  breeding  nor  even  superficially  good  man- 
ners. Another  time,  be  less  indulgent,  even  if  your 
wife  is  offended,  for  you  must  insist  on  having  your 
own  way  when  it  is  for  the  general  good !  Good  night 
my  dear  fellow  !  " 

He  entered  his  room,  and  Guy  went  down  stairs. 
He  was  greatly  annoyed,  and  yet  so  intensely  amused 
at  the  droll  side  of  this  little  affair,  that  he  could  not 
restrain  himself  from  telling  Mullan  about  it. 

If  Monsieur  de  Grosmont  could  but  have  heard 
them  laugh.  But  the  walls  were  thick,  and  he  lodged 
in  an  opposite  wing. 

Blanche  never  made  the  smallest  allusion  to  the 
advice  given  by  her  guardian,  but  Guy  felt  all  the  next 
morning  that  he  made  a  very  sorry  figure. 


A    GUARDIAN.  Ill 

Had  she  liked  a  hearty  laugh,  she  might  have 
enjoyed  the  most  innocent  and  legitimate  vengeance, 
but  she  disdained  such  pleasures.  By  nature  she  was 
magnanimous,  but  Mullan  was  by  no  means  equally 
generous,  and  occasionally,  after  his  own  fashion, 
revenged  the  wrongs  of  Madame  de  Dreux,  by  attack- 
ing Guy  with  covert  allusions. 

There  was  one  person,  however,  who  was  greatly 
amused  by  the  story  which  she  heard  as  a  profound  se- 
cret from  Mullan  ;  after  which  she  so  watched  Madame 
Rovery,  Monsieur  de  Grosmont,  and  de  Dreux  him- 
self, that  the  poor  fellow  was  driven  half  wild.  But 
she  was  a  very  discreet  person,  and  she  kept  the  secret. 

An  hour  after  breakfast  the  mayors  of  the  different 
cantons  presented  themselves  at  the  chateau,  as  had 
been  agreed  upon.  The  weather  was  detestable :  one 
of  those  beating  rains  so  frequent  on  the  sea  coast, 
which  are  apt  to  last  twenty-four  hours,  and  kept  the 
guests  of  the  chateau  thus  within  its  walls.  Every 
one  was  listless,  and  weary  eyes  looked  through  the 
misty  window-panes  at  the  trees  shrouded  in  mist, 
which  looked  as  if  weeping  for  the  fair  weather  that 
had  vanished.  The  wind  whistled  down  the  huge 
chimneys  and  through  the  wide  corridors  with  a  most 
dismal  threatening  sound. 

The  ladies  were  grouped  about  the  salon  armed  with 
embroidery  and  needle-work,  which  had  been  in  the 
bottom  of  their  trunks  ever  since  they  left  Paris,  and 
never  saw  daylight  except  on  similar  occasions. 

Mullan  played  piquet  with  the  Comtesse,  who  was, 


112  A    GUARDIAN. 

to  her  intense  delight,  winning  game  after  game.  To 
tell  the  truth,  this  charming  dowager  was  the  life  of 
the  circle ;  it  was  she  who  was  endowed  with  real 
youth,  and  with  a  character  which  the  events  of  life 
could  not  disturb,  for  the  young  at  heart  are  always 
amiable. 

Madeline  glided  to  a  chair  near  her  husband,  who 
was  tempted  to  go  to  his  room  and  do  a  good  day's 
work,  which  enjoyment  had  not  been  his,  since  his 
arrival  at  Mesnil ;  but  his  wife  gave  him  a  look  of  such 
tenderness  and  of  supplication,  that  he  preferred  to 
give  up  all  idea  of  work  than  to  leave  her  alone  among 
all  these  people. 

He  took  up  a  book,  and  his  wife  drew  a  low  chair 
near  to  his  side,  and  sat  in  such  a  way  that  she  could 
see  him  and  even  speak  to  him  in  a  low  voice  without 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  others.  This  corner 
was  the  happiest  one  in  the  salon,  and  Blanche,  who, 
as  mistress  of  the  house,  was  often  called  from  the 
room,  never  went  or  came  without  laying  a  caressing 
hand  on  the  shoulder  of  her  friend,  who  would  look 
up  with  a  smile. 

Her  heart  warmed  as  she  looked  at  these  married 
lovers,  for  Blanche  was  not  selfish;  she  liked  to  see 
those  about  her  happy. 

"Here  come  the  mayors,  filing  up  the  avenue,"  said 
Mullan,  throwing  down  his  cards.  "  Good  heavens ! 
What  umbrellas;  they  are  of  all  forms  and  sizes,  as 
well  as  of  all  ages  !  " 

Madame  Rovery  uttered  a  shrill  laugh.  Blanche 
rang,  and  ordered  a  fire  to  be  made  in  the  library. 


A    GUARDIAN.  113 

"A  fire  in  August?"  cried  Miss  Amy.  "Do  you 
intend  to  cook  them  ?  " 

"No,  Only  to  dry  them,  Mademoiselle,"  said  Mon- 
sieur de  Grosmont,  with  biting  severity. 

Miss  Amy  put  on  an  exaggerated  expression  of  mor- 
tification, but  no  one  ventured  to  laugh.  The  visitors 
approached  without  any  especial  dignity,  it  must  be 
admitted,  for  they  skipped  first  to  one  side  of  the 
road,  and  then  to  the  other  to  avoid  the  little  pools  of 
water.  They  reached  the  steps,  and  Guy  went  out  to 
the  hall  to  receive  them. 

"I  wish  we  could  hear  them,"  said  Madame  Praxis, 
"it  might  be  very  amusing.  I  am  sure  they  have 
come  to  ask  for  some  colossal  folly." 

"I  agree  with  you,  Madame,"  answered  Mullan. 
*'  Man  is  made  up  of  follies.  Yes,  Miss  Arny,  that  is 
so,  but  it  is  not  I  who  say  it,  it  was  a  Latin  poet. 
And  woman  is  much  the  same  !  " 

To  the  horror  of  Monsieur  de  Grosmont,  the  young 
girl  returned  this  impertinence  in  kind.  The  worthy 
man  turned  an  indignant  look  toward  Blanche,  but 
she  had  vanished.  In  despair,  the  old  gentleman  took 
Mullan's  seat  and  began  to  play  a  game  of  piquet 
with  the  Comtesse. 

The  mayors  were  now  all  assembled  in  the  vast 
library.  They  were  seated  on  the  edges  of  various 
chairs  in  rigid  uncomfortable  positions.  They  were 
vexed  beyond  words  that  the  inclemency  of  the  day 
had  marred  the  symmetry  of  their  costumes,  and 
injured  the  dignity  of  their  appearance. 
7 


114  A    GUARDIAN. 

Their  muddy  shoes  and  bespattered  garments  robbed 
them  of  much  of  their  assurance ;  they  were,  for  the 
most  part,  small  farmers,  living  on  their  own  land, 
with  education  enough  to  read  a  newspaper  twice  in 
the  week,  and  almost  to  understand  it.  The  majestic 
appearance  of  Mesnil,  all  its  luxury  of  appointments 
and  service,  contributed  to  intimidate  them  quite  as 
much  as  the  rows  upon  rows  of  books  occupying 
the  four  sides  of  the  room — books  which  were  rarely 
consulted,  except  by  Blanche. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  leaning  on 
the  chimney,  in  which  burned  a  huge  log  worthy  of 
Christmas,  "  I  thank  you  for  the  honor  of  your  visit ; 
I  am  profoundly,  yes  profoundly  grateful  and  touched 
by  your  confidence  in  coming  here  to  express  your 
wishes  to  me.  Be  persuaded,  gentlemen,  that  I  shall 
do  my  best  to  satisfy  you  that  I  will  direct  all  my 
efforts  toward  the  accomplishment  of  your  wishes,  and 
the  wishes  of  my  country,  this  being  the  first  duty  of 
those  to  whom  the  country  entrusts  its  destiny." 

A  flattering  murmur  rose  from  the  municipal  group ; 
the  muddy  shoes  moved  restlessly  on  the  carpet ;  then, 
ashamed  of  their  audacity,  were  immediately  thrust 
under  their  chairs  again.  All  eyes  were  turned  toward 
the  Mayor  of  Manigamp,  who,  more  learned  than  the 
others,  had  translated  the  de  Viris  illustribus. 

"  We  have  come,  your  honor,"  he  began,  in  a  shrill, 
falsetto  voice,  "  we  have  come,  sent  by  your  constitu- 
ents— by  our  constituents,  who  are  very  uneasy,  and 
who  desire  a  word  from  you  which  may  give  them  new 
hopes." 


A    GUARDIAN.  115 

Here  he  stopped.  Evidently  the  Mayor  had  learned 
this  little  speech  by  heart,  and  his  memory  failed  him. 
After  gasping  a  little,  he  began  again. 

"You,  who  are  the  guardians  of  all  our  institu- 
tions, you  know  how  deeply  we  in  this  country  are 
attached  to  that  which  came  from  our  fathers ;  they 
want  to  corrupt  the  land.  Say  you  will  not  permit  it, 
of  course,  and  will  add  your  efforts  to  ours.  It  is  a 
question  in  which  the  purity  of  the  morals  of  our 
nation  is  involved,  and  we  call  upon  you  to  join  us  in 
their  defence." 

The  orator  became  silent,  probably  to  enjoy  the 
effect  of  his  discourse. 

Guy,  still  leaning  with  one  shoulder  against  the 
mantel,  wished  that  he  could  place  his  back  against  it; 
this,  however,  was  impossible,  dignified  as  the  position 
would  have  been,  by  reason  of  the  height  of  this  mon- 
umental edifice.  He  therefore  thrust  one  finger  be- 
tween the  buttons  of  his  vest  after  the  fashion  of  the 
day — a  fashion  which  has  certainly  lasted  a  long  time 
and  then  began  his  reply  in  tones  of  great  dignity. 

"No  one,  as  you  are  well  aware,  gentlemen,  has  a 
stronger  wish  than  myself  to  maintain  that  purity  of 
morals  which  characterizes  all  honest  nations.  Speak, 
then,  with  all  frankness ;  you  will  always  find  me  dis- 
posed to  aid  you  with  all  the  weight  of  my  authority. 

The  Mayors,  whose  stupidity  had  by  this  time  van- 
ished, opened  their  mouths  simultaneously,  which 
naturally  created  some  confusion,  but  order  was  soon 
established. 


116  A    GUARDIAN. 

"  This  is  how  it  is,  sir,"  said  another,  becoming  as 
red  as  a  poppy ;  "  we  are  told  that  they  intend  to  build 
a  railroad.  Several  of  our  Communes  are  threatened, 
and  we  now  come  to  implore  you  to  avert  this  mis- 
fortune." 

"  Misfortune !  "  repeated  Guy,  greatly  astonished ; 
"it  seems  to  me,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  is  a  great 
favor  shown  you  by  the  ministry.  Generally  the 
Provinces  look  upon  the  building  of  a  railroad  as  a 
very  great  favor." 

"  That  may  be,  sir,  others  can  think  what  they 
please,  but  we  know  what  we  want,  and  we  do  not 
want  any  of  these  inventions  of  the  devil.  These 
locomotives,  as  we  hear  them  called,  are  unnecessary 
things.  They  are  not  alive,  and  yet  they  move,  and 
consequently  must  have  something  wrong  about  them," 
answered  the  Breton,  with  the  proverbial  obstinacy 
of  his  race.  "  Our  Cure'  said  Satan  had  a  hand  in 
these  railroads,  and  we  came  to  say  sir,  that  we  wanted 
none  of  them." 

The  educated  Mayor,  who  knew  something  of  Latin, 
here  took  the  words  from  the  mouth  of  his  colleague. 
"If  this  were  all,"  he  said,  with  a  little  air  of  disdain, 
"  it  would  not  much  matter ;  but  there  is  worse,  still. 
The  building  of  such  a  road  would  bring  a  crowd  of 
strangers  here,  and  they  have  ways  which  make  us 
shudder.  They  drink  and  swear  like  pagans.  You 
understand,  sir,  that  such  things  cannot  be  permitted 
in  his  Commune  by  a  Mayor  who  respects  himself  and 
the  people  he  governs." 


A    GUARDIAN.  117 

"And  then,  interrupted  a  third,  "there  is  another 
thing.  When  they  have  laid  out  their  track,  as  they 
call  it,  it  is  quite  as  likely  as  not  to  go  through  our 
gardens  and  barns,  our  fields  and  our  houses !  It  is 
perfectly  abominable.  Now  just  look  at  me ;  I  have  a 
most  lovely  orchard,  none  could  be  finer ;  I  make  six 
hundred  francs  worth  of  cider  every  year.  They  will 
certainly  cut  it  in  two  !  Now,  I  ask  you,  what  I  should 
do  with  the  two  halves  of  my  orchard  with  a  railroad 
running  through  the  middle?  No,  sir;  we  want  no 
such  thing  among  us.  And  we  expect  you  to  tell  the 
Minister  as  much.  And  you  must  prevent  this  great 
misfortune." 

"  Yes,  it  is  for  that  we  elected  you,"  chanted  all  the 
peasants,  in  a  loud  chorus.  By  this  time  they  were  no 
longer  afraid  to  move  their  feet.  Standing  around 
Guy,  they  began  to  crowd  upon  him ;  he  disengaged 
himself  promptly. 

"  I  do  not  understand,  my  friends,"  he  said,  retreat- 
ing to  his  stronghold  against  the  chimney.  "  Do  you 
wish  me  to  ask  the  Minister  of  Public  Works  to  change 
the  route  of  this  railway,  and  carry  it  more  to  the 
west?" 

"  To  the  west  or  the  east,  we  do  not  care  which  I  " 
cried  his  constituents,  altogether,  "provided  it  is  no 
where  near  us.  We  will  not  have  it !  " 

"  It  was  your  predecessor  who  did  this  harm,"  said 
a  shrewd-looking  fellow,  with  gray  eyes ;  we  all  told 
him  not  to  do  anything  of  the  kind,  but  he  persisted. 
He  did  everything  that  came  into  his  head,  pretend- 


118  A    GUARDIAN. 

ing  that  it  was  for  our  good.  Fortunately  for  us,  he 
is  dead ;  for  I  am  very  much  afraid  that  he  would  have 
been  again  elected  had  he  lived.  His  death  procured 
us  the  pleasure  of  having  you  for  our  Deputy,  Mon- 
sieur de  Dreux,  for  you  are  a  good  and  honest  man, 
who  understands  our  tastes." 

Guy  frowned ;  this  speech,  with  its  covert  menace, 
was  approved  of  by  the  others,  and  perfectly  under- 
stood by  the  Deputy  himself.  If  the  next  elections 
shelved  him,  he  would  find  himself  in  a  most  disagree- 
able position.  He  liked  politics,  being  a  Deputy  had 
its  advantages,  and  not  to  be  renominated  would  be  a 
dire  blow  to  him. 

"  My  friends,"  he  said,  with  a  majestic  wave  of  his 
hand,  which  enjoined  silence,  "  I  cannot  give  you  any 
positive  assurance,  but  I  will  see  the  Minister." 

The  noise  of  a  chair  overturned  in  the  next  room 
made  Monsieur  de  Dreux  start.  It  was  through  that 
room  that  Blanche  usually  came  when  she  worked 
with  him — her  little  salon  communicating  thus  directly 
with  her  husband's  library. 

"My  wife  is  there,"  he  said  to  himself;  "so  much 
the  better ;  she  will  hear  all  that  is  said,  and  I  shall  be 
spared  the  trouble  of  repeating  it  all  to  her.  I  will 
see  the  Minister,"  he  said  aloud,  "  and  I  will  submit 
your  objections  to  him." 

"  We  do  not  care  what  the  Minister  says,"  muttered 
one  man ;  "  if  he  sends  any  workmen  here  we  will 
demolish  all  they  do  as  fast  as  they  accomplish  it ! " 

"  No  violence,  my  friends,  no  violence !  "  said  Guy, 


A    GUARDIAN.  119 

authoritatively.  "Common  sense  and  good  behavior 
are  the  best  arguments  you  can  offer.  I  will  do  my 
best  to  serve  your  wishes,  and  I  hope — " 

A  servant  entered  with  a  letter  on  a  tray. 

"  A  Ministerial  communication,"  said  the  man,  aloud. 
"  A  reply  is  required." 

The  Mayors  looked  at  each  other  and  then  for  the 
letter,  for  which  they  had  the  greatest  respect,  regard- 
ing it  as  a  sort  of  firman.  At  this  remote  period, 
when  peasants  destroyed  railroads  and  curds  exorcised 
locomotives,  a  ministerial  document  was  a  matter  of 
the  highest  importance,  and  they  were  pleased  to  have 
seen  one. 

Guy  broke  the  seal,  and  on  a  paper  which  he  knew 
he  read  these  words  in  his  wife's  writing : 

"  Come  to  me  one  moment,  and  do  not  say  one  word 
more  until  you  have  seen  me." 

Monsieur  de  Dreux  was  greatly  troubled,  and  asked 
himself  what  he  could  have  said.  It  must  have  been 
something  very  much  out  of  the  way  for  Blanche  to 
summon  him  in  this  fashion.  Being  quite  prudent, 
however,  for  a  man  can't  dabble  in  politics,  even  in 
the  smallest  degree,  without  becoming  more  or  less 
prudent,  he  said  to  the  servant,  who  stood  respectfully 
waiting : 

"  Very  good ;  I  will  come.  These  gentlemen  will 
excuse  me  for  a  moment,"  said  Guy.  "  Commands  like 
these  permit  no  delay." 

He  left  the  room  with  a  dignified  step,  ordered  some 
refreshments  to  be  sent  to  his  constituents,  and  coming 


120  A    GUARDIAN. 

back  through  the  corridor,  entered  the  salon  where  his 
wife  awaited  him. 

"  What  on  earth  is  the  matter?"  he  asked. 

She  dragged  him  to  the  further  end  of  the  room  and 
sjiid,  in  a  whisper: 

"  My  dear  husband,  you  are  very  near  allowing  your- 
self to  be  dragged  into  making  a  promise  which  you 
would  regret  before  the  day  was  over.  I  know  you, 
Guy,  and  I  know  that  if  your  heart  is  appealed  to 
one  can  obtain  anything  from  you,  but  you  must  be 
firm ! " 

"  What  on  earth  do  you  mean  ?  These  idiots  don't 
want  their  railroad — so  much  the  worse  for  them,  that 
is  all ! " 

Blanche  in  utter  consternation  dropped  both  hands  in 
her  lap.  If  her  husband  did  not  understand  and  grasp 
the  situation  now,  all  was  lost,  his  political  future  and 
his  growing  reputation.  De  Dreux  would  never  be 
forgiven  if  he  were  weak  enough  to  ask  that  the  route 
of  the  railway  should  be  changed.  The  benefit  for 
which  all  intelligent  France  clamored  as  for  manna — 
the  benefit  which  another  now  dead  had  obtained 
with  so  much  difficulty,  Guy  was  about  to  repudiate. 
If  he  did  this,  it  were  to  place  him  at  once  among  the 
incapable,  among  those  who  are  without  sense  and 
discrimination. 

The  despairing  gesture,  the  reproachful  eyes,  said  all 
this  in  the  most  eloquent  manner.  Guy  fortunately 
read  only  a  portion  of  that  which  they  conveyed. 

"You   would    be   disappointed,  I  suppose,  for  the 


A    GUARDIAN.  121 

railroad  would  make  our  place  much  more  accessible ; 
but  this  would  be  a  small  benefit  after  all,  and  the 
prospect  of  not  being  nominated  at  the  next  elections, 
you  know — " 

"  Good  heavens ! "  exclaimed  Blanche,  impatiently. 
"  That  has  nothing  to  do  with  it !  If  your  constituents 
are  displeased  with  you  and  refuse  to  re-nominate  you, 
you  can  easily  secure  your  election  elsewhere  —  at 
Rame'cy,  for  example — and  the  deputy  who  had  been 
dropped  because  he  had  refused  to  ask  that  a  railroad 
should  be  relinquished  for  which  the  grant  had  been 
already  given,  would  be  unanimously  elected.  Can't 
you  see  that  ?  The  future  of  the  world  is  in  railroads. 
Lecomte  said  as  much  yesterday,  and  you  know  that 
he  is  not  given  to  wasting  his  words.  You  have 
eloquence.  Prove  to  these  simpletons  that  their  for- 
tunes lie  in  that  direction ;  that  they  will  sell  their 
land  at  a  very  high  price.  They  like  money,  touch 
that  chord !  The  workmen  will  board  with  the  peas- 
ants, another  source  of  revenue.  The  products  of  the 
country  will  double  in  price ;  tell  them  that.  Then 
too,  they  hate  the  people  of  Morabors;  there  is  an 
hereditary  hatred  between  the  two  places.  Tell  them 
that  if  they  object,  their  railroad  shall  go  by  Morabors. 
You  told  me  only  last  summer  how  great  the  advan- 
tage would  be  to  the  whole  distiict  of  such  a  line." 

"  I  ?  "  said  Guy,  who  had  never  thought  of  it. 

"Yes,  coming  home  from  Manigamp,  the  day  of 
the  fete.  Be  faithful  to  your  convictions,  Guy — fling 
to  the  breeze  the  flag  of  Progress  and  Wealth,  and 


122  A    GUARDIAN. 

in  twenty  years  these  same  simpletons  will  order  a 
statute  of  yourself  on  the  pedestal  of  which  these 
words  will  be  engraved :  '  He  inaugurated  the  first 
railroad  in  Brittany.'  Go  now.  I  shall  be  listening, 
and  I  am  proud  of  you." 

She  pushed  him  out  of  the  room,  and  then  took  her 
seat  in  the  open  door  vailed  with  heavy  curtains,  which 
communicated  with  the  library. 

With  her  hands  clasped,  she  uttered  a  sigh  which 
was  almost  one  of  agony. 

"  It  is  my  fate  always  to  lie,"  she  thought,  "  always 
to  feign.  And  why  ?  Ah  !  how  weary  I  am  !  " 

Guy's  voice,  rich  and  melodious,  now  fell  upon  her 
ear.  She  listened  with  bated  breath. 

"  I  said  to  you  just  now,  gentlemen,  that  I  would  lay 
your  objections  before  the  Minister.  You  can  judge  of 
the  extent  of  my  devotion  by  this  willingness  on  my 
part  to  serve  you ;  but  you  will  please  to  remember, 
gentlemen,  that  the  hand  which  opens  to  shower  bene- 
fits upon  you  is  not  always  ready  to  receive  again 
those  same  benefits." 

A  murmur  of  disapproval  rose  from  the  group.  Guy 
waved  his  hand  gracefully,  and  all  was  silent  again. 

"  Suppose,  gentlemen,  that  in  spite  of  all  my  efforts 
I  were  unable  to  alter  the  route  of  this  railway  which, 
to  use  your  own  expression,  now  threatens  us.  Will 
not  such  acts  of  rebellion,  reprehensible  in  every  point 
of  view,  render  us  totally  unworthy  of  any  further 
favors  from  the  administration  ?  The  time  is  near  at 
hand  when  work  on  the  road  must  begin ;  in  a  month 


A    GUARDIAN.  123 

probably  the  pioneers  will  appear  in  this  quiet,  peaceful 
land.  Would  this  be  a  convincing  proof  that  my 
demand  is  refused,  and  that  the  misfortune  is  una- 
verted?  No,  gentlemen,  no.  Such  works  have  been 
begun  and  then  abandoned,  and  in  that  case  the  pro- 
prietors whose  land  has  been  taken  receives  ample 
indemnification.  Do  not  fear  for  yourselves  or  your 
families  any  danger  in  association  with  the  workmen 
who  will  come  here.  Be  persuaded  that  the  good 
morals  and  religious  principles  inculcated  by  your 
fraternal  care  will  preserve  our  village  from  the  deteri- 
orating effects  of  these  men,  who  after  all  may  be  much 
better  than  you  are  disposed  to  believe.  These  work- 
men too,  will  make  but  a  brief  sojourn  ;  but  brief  as  it 
will  be,  there  will  be  one  danger  in  regard  to  which  I 
wish  to  warn  you.  The  inns  are  very  few,  and  they 
will  be  obliged  to  board  with  the  inhabitants — " 

"  Zounds.!  "  muttered  one  of  the  mayors. 

"  Yes,  gentlemen,  but  do  not  be  concerned,  they  will 
pay  and  pay  well  for  their  lodgings.  These  peasants, 
who  are  willing  to  take  them  in,  will  be  well  paid. 
The  presence  of  these  strangers  will  be  a  great  source 
of  benefit  to  the  country.  If  they  should  chance  to 
remain  here  several  years,  as  is  sometimes  the  case 
in  such  enterprises  when  the  road  is  a  long  one,  you 
would  have  reason  to  rejoice  on  account  of  your 
increased  prosperity.  Surely,  gentlemen,  you  must 
be  aware  that  every  district  through  which  runs  a  long 
line  of  railway,  is  rapidly  and  surely  enriched ;  but  as 
I  am  aware  of  your  principles  and  your  disinterested- 


124  A    GUARDIAN. 

ness,  I  will  abstain  from  dwelling  on  these  secondary 
considerations." 

"Pray  tell  us,  Sir,"  asked  the  shrewd  peasant,  who 
had  once  before  spoken,  "how  a  railroad  can  enrich 
the  country  ?  " 

"  Simply  by  bringing  it  nearer  Paris,  that  great 
center — the  gulf  which  devours  everything,  and  where 
the  butter  for  which  you  are  glad  to  get  twelve  sous 
sells  for  two  francs." 

"  Two  francs !  "  repeated  the  group,  filled  with  awe. 

"  Yes,  of  course ;  but  what  of  that  ?  You  prefer 
your  honest  poverty  to  a  fortune  acquired  by  means 
which,  though  rapid,  are  repugnant  to  you.  I  respect 
your  principles  too  much  to  try  to  modify  them.  Now 
here  is  Monsieur  Grindaud,  for  example,"  and  Guy 
nodded  toward  the  shrewd,  gray  eyed  mayor,  "he 
makes  on  his  farm  some  six  hundred  pounds  of  butter 
per  annum ;  he  prefers  to  lose  the  enormous  sums  he 
would  be  sure  to  make  when  the  railway  was  built, 
with  a  station  almost  at  his  door.  You  are  aware, 
gentlemen,  that  the  station  is  to  be  erected  not  a 
league  from  Mesnil,  and  precisely  opposite  Monsieur 
Grindaud—" 

"  That  would  be  twelve  hundred  francs,"  murmured 
that  individual.  "And  eggs,  sir,  are  they  dear  in 
Paris  too?" 

"  They  sell  for  double  what  we  pay  for  them  here," 
answered  Guy,  carelessly.  "  I  will  not  detain  you  any 
longer,  gentlemen.  The  inhabitants  of  Morabors  have 
been  trying  for  two  years  to  obtain  the  promise  that 


A    GUARDIAN.  125 

this  railroad  should  run  through  their  village,  and 
owing  to  this  fact  I  hope  to  have  no  difficulty  in  carry- 
ing out  your  wishes.  They  have  already  built  a 
market-house  to  use  as  their  central  depot  for  the 
products  of  their  Canton,  and  as  their  property  will 
double  in  value,  they  of  course — " 

"  Excuse  me,  sir,  but  does  property  double  in  value 
when  there  is  a  railroad  ?  " 

"  Most  certainly,  and  often  its  value  is  quadrupled. 
Suppose,  for  example,  that  they  should  want  your 
house,  Monsieur  Morat,  for  a  station.  In  that  case, 
they  would  pay  you  six  or  seven  thousand  francs, 
while  to-day  if  you  wished  to  sell  it,  you  could  not  get 
two." 

The  peasants  looked  at  each  other,  not  knowing 
what  to  say.  Presently  the  boldest  spoke. 

"We  never  heard  a  word  of  all  this  before,"  he 
said,  "  and  it  seems  to  me,"  he  added,  turning  to  his 
companions,  "  that  before  deciding,  we  ought  to  think 
a  little  of  the  good  side  of  the  question  as  well  as  the 
bad  side." 

"  Certainly,"  answered  the  peasants,  hastily.  "  We 
must  have  time  to  reflect." 

"You  are  your  own  masters,"  said  Monsieur  de 
Dreux,  with  a  slight  yawn,  for  he  began  to  be  intoler- 
ably bored.  "In  the  meantime,  permit  me  to  wish 
you  all  good  luck  at  the  fair,  which  takes  place,  I 
believe,  on  the  30th  of  this  month." 

"  Many  thanks,  sir,"  cried  the  Mayors,  in  chorus. 

"  Cattle  wont  sell  here  nowadays,"  added  one  man, 
"  everybody  has  enough." 


126  A    GUARDIAN. 

"  Your  neighbors'  cattle  wont  hang  long  on  the  hands 
of  their  owners,"  answered  de  Dreux.  "They  are 
long  headed  fellows  and  know  how  to  set  their  sails  in 
order  to  catch  all  the  wind  that  is  blowing.  They  will 
be  able,  too,  to  finish  their  Cathedral." 

This  was  a  severe  blow  to  all  the  mayors  of  the 
Arrondissements  of  Manigamp. 

"The  Cathedral!"  they  cried,  "will  that  ever  be 
finished?" 

The  deputation  went  away  without  having  come  to 
any  final  decision,  Guy  repeating  as  they  left  him,  that 
he  would  speak  to  the  Minister.  In  the  court-yard 
they  opened  their  umbrellas  and  held  an  animated 
discussion.  After  about  ten  minutes,  the  gray  eyed 
man  came  back  and  asked  to  speak  to  Guy. 

Monsieur  de  Dreux  had  been  watching  his  constitu- 
ents from  the  window  of  the  library,  favoring  Blanche, 
who  stood  just  behind  him,  with  humorous  reflections 
on  the  appearance  and  gestures  of  these  excellent  men. 
When  admitted  to  Guy's  presence,  one  of  them  said 
boldly: 

"  We  have  been  thinking,  sir,  that  it  is  best  not  to 
be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  speak  to  the  Minister.  We 
must  have  a  little  time  to  look  about." 

"  I  am  here,"  answered  Guy,  "  only  to  obey  you," 
and  he  bit  his  lips  to  conceal  a  smile.  "  When  you 
have  decided,  you  will  let  me  know." 

"Precisely,  sir,  and  we  are  very  much  obliged  to 
you." 

The  umbrellas  were  soon  seen  going  down  the 
avenue. 


A    GUARDIAN.  127 

"  Well !  "  said  Guy,  going  back  to  his  wife,  "  it  looks 
to  me  as  if  I  had  won  the  day." 

"Your  words  were  golden,"  Blanche  answered. 
"  Let  me  congratulate  you  !  " 

"  These  good  people,"  said  Guy,  "  are  singularly 
dull ;  but  after  all,  they  are  not  to  blame ;  their  clergy 
are  so  fanatical." 

Blanche  looked  at  him  to  see  if  he  were  in  earnest, 
and  turned  from  him  with  a  feeling  of  despair. 

"  Let  us  go  back  to  the  salon,"  she  said ;  "  they  will 
be  asking  what  has  become  of  us." 

Much  pleased  with  what  he  had  done,  Guy  went 
out  of  the  room,  she  following  him  submissively  as  a 
dog  follows  his  master. 


128  SOLICITATIONS. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

SOLICITATIONS. 

AN  entire  week  elapsed  before  Monsieur  de  Dreux 
made  any  attempt  to  stem  the  flood  of  eloquence 
which  poured  from  his  lips — which  were  Athenian,  if 
only  in  form.  His  little  speech  to  the  Mayors  had 
opened  the  sluice  gates,  and  Guy  continued  to  make 
pretty  speeches  and  to  round  his  periods.  He  enjoyed 
the  music  of  his  own  words,  and  for  some  time  the 
lofty  ceilings  of  Mesnil  echoed  the  sacred  words — "the 
liberty  of  the  masses,  Progress — Liberty — Work !  " 

These  little  oratorical  experiments  had  an  effect  on 
all  the  members  of  the  household ;  but  the  effect  on 
each  person  was  very  different.  Gerard  Lecomte  lis- 
tened in  silence,  and  asked  what  the  deuce  it  all  meant. 
Madeline  opened  wide  her  big  eyes  and  thought  that 
Guy  de  Dreux  was  certainly  very  much  changed. 
Madame  Rovery  and  her  sister  were  greatly  bored  and 
made  no  attempt  to  conceal  it;  the  Comtesse  Praxis 
listened  with  mingled  perplexity  and  admiration. 
Mullan  laughed  heartily  under  his  moustache,  and 
Blanche  was  so  cold  and  reserved  that  Monsieur  de 
Grosmont  felt  that  he  ought  to  say  a  few  words  of 
mild  reproach  to  her. 

"  I  cannot  understand,  my  child,"  he  said  to  her  one 


SOLICITATIONS.  129 

day,  "why  you  affect  such  scorn  for  the  generous, 
enlarged  ideas  advanced  by  your  husband.  These 
ideas  are  not  of  my  time.  The  generation  to  which 
I  had  the  honor  to  belong,  and  which  numbers  many 
illustrious  names  had  other  cares ;  but  now  that  these 
are  the  order  of  the  day,  and  great  minds  busy 
themselves  in  bearing  light  to  the  most  benighted 
races,  as  Monsieur  de  Dreux  just  now  said,  and 
said  so  well,  I  must  confess  that  I  am  puzzled  by 
your  indifference  to  the  principles  by  which  his 
conduct  is  regulated.  In  fact,  my  dear  Blanche,  if  I 
did  not  know  you  so  well,  I  should  think  you  had  a 
tendency  to  withdraw  into  yourself,  a  tendency — which 
pray  excuse  the  words,  looks  too  much  like  selfishness." 

Blanche  received  this  last  blow  with  meekness.  She 
had  felt  many  others.  Enveloped  in  apparent  coldness, 
she  had  done  her  best  to  conceal  her  real  feelings  from 
the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  had  succeeded. 

That  she  should  be  supposed  to  be  selfish  and  indif- 
ferent, mattered  little  to  her ;  the  first  essential  of  her 
life  was  to  adorn  her  husband  with  all  these  qualities 
which  she  took  from  herself. 

All  her  generous  impulses,  her  brain  and  far-sighted 
cleverness,  all  those  elements  which  go  to  make  up  the 
character  of  a  superior  man,  belong  to  Guy,  while  she, 
passive,  submissive  and  weak,  was  content  to  walk  in 
his  shadow. 

One  fine  day  she  was  sauntering  in  the  garden, 
admiring  her  roses,  which  she  loved  as  if  they  had 
been  children,  when  she  saw  Guy  coming  toward  her. 
8 


130  SOLICITATIONS. 

"  I  intend  to  reproach  you,"  he  said,  with  a  smile 
that  belied  his  words.  "You  love  your  flowers  too 
much,  dear  Blanche,  which  prevents  you  from  being  a 
good  neighbor." 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  little  astonishment. 

"  Yes,  you  know  how  important  it  is  for  me  to  stand 
well  with  the  Cabinet.  You  are  perfectly  well  aware 
that  personal  friendships  have  their  weight  in  the 
affairs  of  State,  and  now,  when  we  are  fortunate 
enough  to  have  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  so  unexpectedly 
for  a  neighbor,  you  have  not  once  invited  him  to 
dinner." 

Blanche,  at  the  first  word  that  her  husband  had 
uttered,  knew  as  well  what  was  coming  as  if  she  had 
read  it  in  an  open  book ;  her  color  rose,  and  she  cut  a 
frightful  gash  in  her  most  beautiful  rose-bush  before 
she  answered. 

Guy  was  right,  this  time,  as  she  well  knew,  and 
there  was  really  nothing  for  her  to  say. 

"  Do  you  not  like  him  ?  "  asked  Guy.  "  Have  you 
any  objection  to  inviting  him  here  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  Blanche,  "  none,  whatever." 

"Shall  we  ask  him  next  week,  then?     Monday?" 

"Very  good,"  said  his  wife.  "That  will  do  very 
well." 

Guy  lifted  her  hand  to  his  lips  and  turned  on  his 
heel,  but  presently  a  sting  of  remorse  brought  him 
back. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  he  said,  very  kindly,  "  that  you  do 
not  wish  to  receive  Monsieur  de  Fresnes ;  if  you  really 
dislike  him — " 


SOLICITATIONS.  131 

"  I  do  not  dislike  him,"  answered  Blanche,  with 
more  than  a  shade  of  impatience.  "  I  told  you  the 
precise  truth.  I  am  not  eloquent,  you  know,  and  I 
simply  try  to  say  things  honestly  and  sincerely,  and 
hope  that  they  will  be  taken  in  the  same  spirit.  You 
can  ask  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  for  Monday ;  he  will  be 
received  as  an  honored  guest." 

Guy  thanked  her  warmly ;  his  warmth,  however,  was 
superficial,  and  then  returned  to  his  business,  which, 
just  at  this  time,  consisted  in  smoking  delicious  cigars 
on  the  terrace,  protected  from  the  sun  by  a  striped 
awning. 

Blanche  continued  to  gather  the  roses,  but  her 
thoughts  were  far  away.  She  had  a  sense  of  fear,  as 
of  the  approach  of  a  danger  which  one  feels  to  be 
inevitable,  and  yet  she  dared  not  put  the  nature  of 
this  danger  into  words.  The  children  came  to  her ; 
she  took  "them  in  her  arms  and  embraced  them  pas- 
sionately. Then,  entering  the  chateau,  she  sent  to 
Paris  to  order  certain  things  necessary  for  Monday's 
dinner. 


132  A    MINISTERIAL    HOLIDAY. 

CHAPTER    X. 

A     MINISTERIAL     HOLIDAY. 

"  rTTRY  and  behave  well,  ladies,"  said  Mullan,  that 

JL  evening,  folding  his  arms  with  an  air  of  lofty 
superiority.  "We  are  to  have  a  Minister  to  dinner, 
and  you  must  not  forget  yourselves." 

"  Is  it  to  me  that  you  offer  this  advice  ?  "  said  Amy, 
with  a  deliciously  impertinent  air. 

"  By  no  means ;  I  intended  it  for  my  venerable  and 
venerated  friend,  Madame  Praxis." 

"  Venerable  yourself! "  cried  the  Comtesse.  "  What 
age  do  you  take  me  to  be,  young  man?  " 

"Just  the  age  you  look,  my  dear  lady,  and  you 
know  that  I  consider  you  perfection !  I  have  the 
bump  of  veneration." 

"  Which  I  have  not !  "  cried  Amy. 

"So  much  the  worse  for  you,  Mademoiselle!"  mut- 
tered Monsieur  de  Grosmont,  from  behind  his  news- 
paper. 

"  I  did  not  make  him  say  that,"  murmured  Mullan, 
leaning  toward  the  rebellious,  pouting  Amy.  "  Mon- 
day is  the  great  day,"  he  continued ;  "  I  hope  you  are 
all  prepared  for  this  stupendous  event." 

"  Is  he  married,  this  gentleman  ? "  asked  Madame 
Rovery,  from  the  depths  of  her  chair,  lifting  as  she 
spoke,  her  beautiful  arm,  bare  to  the  shoulder,  except 
for  some  beautiful  bracelets. 


A    MINISTERIAL    HOLIDAY.  133 

"No,  Madame,  not  yet,"  answered  Mullan,  "and  he 
is  a  great  catch,  for,  upon  my  word,  I  don't  know  any 
advantage  in  this  world  which  is  not  his.  But  you 
will  soon  judge  for  yourself." 

Guy  rose  and  went  out  on  the  terrace ;  he  thought 
Mullan  rude  to  his  friends,  but  he  had  no  idea  how  to 
prevent  it. 

"  I  shall  certainly  marry  this  Phenix  of  ministers, 
myself,"  said  Madame  Praxis.  "  Yes,  young  people, 
you  may  laugh.  I  will  marry  him  to  prevent  some 
one  doing  so  who  is  not  worthy  of  such  a  wonder,  and 
when  I  succeed  in  finding  the  perfect  woman  who 
would  suit  him,  be  she  maid  or  widow,  then  I  will  go 
quietly  out  of  this  world  with  the  noble  consciousness 
of  duties  fulfilled,  as  our  friend  De  Dreux  would  say. 
By  the  way,  De  Dreux,  you  are  infecting  all  of'  us 
with  your  eloquence,  arid  I  for  one,  am  truly  grateful." 

"  Most  happy,"  answered  the  young  Deputy. 
"  Most  happy  to  have  served  you  in  any  way." 

"You  are  perfecting  us,"  answered  the  Comtesse, 
"and  why  not?  Everything  is  being  perfected  in 
these  days  —  mowing  machines,  churns,  corkscrews, 
everything  in  fact  except  man " 

"  Oh !  man ! "  muttered  Mullan,  with  an  air  of 
disgust. 

"And  woman,"  concluded  the  Comtesse,  triumph- 
antly. "  Now  your  friend  De  Fresnes  is  so  near  perfec- 
tion  " 

"That  he  touches  it?"  asked  Mullan. 

"  At  all  events  he  must  be  careful,  or  he  will 
certainly  be  spoiled  in  this  frivolous  circle." 


134  A    MINISTERIAL     HOLIDAY. 

"  I  think  we  ought  to  be  placed  at  a  side  table," 
said  Amy. 

"  An  excellent  plan ! "  grumbled  Monsieur  de 
Grosmont. 

But  Blanche  rattled  the  newspaper  she  was  reading 
so  noisily  that  this  last  pleasing  remark  did  not  reach 
the  ears  of  the  young  girl. 

"  After  all,"  said  Mullan,  philosophically,  "  it  is  not 
our  fault  if  we  are  imperfect  beings.  Everybody  can't 
rise  to  the  height  reached  by  De  Fresnes.  For  my 
own  part,  I  am  quite  content  to  look  on  with  the 
admiration  he  deserves,  but  I  am  not  disposed  to  try 
and  imitate  him.  I  never  care  to  waste  time  and 
strength  in  useless  efforts." 

His  eyes  turned  toward  Blanche,  who  was  seated  at 
the  other  end  of  the  salon.  It  was  she  who,  in  his 
eyes,  represented  perfection. 

It  is  a  strange  feeling  which  lingers  in  the  heart  of 
a  man  of  intellect  for  a  woman  whom  he  has  once 
loved,  whom  he  has  continued  to  see,  and  who  is  and 
has  always  been  the  incarnation  of  purity.  There  is  a 
combination  of  all  emotions,  respect,  friendship, 
regret,  and  withal  a  certain  jealousy,  as  keen  as  the 
scent  of  a  dog,  with  which  he  analyzes  the  sentiments 
of  all  who  approach  her. 

Mullan  would  not  have  admitted  that  he  had  any 
feeling  of  this  kind  toward  Monsieur  de  Fresnes.  He 
knew  that  this  man  was  vastly  superior  to  the  majority 
of  those  around  Blanche ;  he  knew  that  he  was  fastid- 
ious to  an  extreme,  and  that  every  act  of  the  young 


A    MINISTERIAL     HOLIDAY.  135 

minister's  life  was  governed  by  the  most  delicate  and 
chivalric  honor.  He  knew,  although  De  Fresnes  was 
scarce  forty,  that  he  owed  his  high  position  to  no 
intrigues,  to  no  services  rendered  of  that  secret  kind 
which  are  not  recognized  in  diplomacy,  but  which  are 
none  the  less  necessary  and  valuable.  He  did  know, 
however,  that  Lucien  de  Fresnes  had  been  unanimously 
called  upon  to  fill  the  position  he  occupied,  at  a  time 
when  every  one  felt  the  need  of  repose  and  security ; 
when  each  party  wanted  time  to  collect  themselves, 
and  felt  that  power  could  only  be  confided  to  some 
one  whose  honesty  was  incorruptible. 

All  this  Mullan  well  knew,  but  he  felt  absolutely 
convinced  at  the  same  time  that  if  Lucien  should  meet 
Madame  de  Dreux  on  familiar  terms,  and  know  her  as 
she  really  was,  he  would  fall  in  love  with  her.  And 
she  ?  Would  she  love  him  ?  Had  she  lived  five  long 
years,  happy  and  tranquil  to  all  appearance,  but,  as 
Mullan  well  knew,  in  reality  utterly  isolated,  without 
feeling  the  need  of  more  tender  sympathy  and  affec- 
tion than  that  which  she  received  from  Mullan  himself, 
and  her  other  friends. 

This  was  precisely  that  which  Mullan  did  not  choose 
to  admit.  The  moral  elevation  of  sentiment,  which 
had  of  late  attained  such  rapid  growth  within  himself, 
made  him  dread  to  detect  any  weakness  in  this 
woman,  whose  purity  was  to  him  her  highest  attrac- 
tion. In  a  word,  Mullan  was  in  the  situation  of  an 
amateur,  who  sees  some  awkward  ignoramus  lay  his 
hand  on  a  china  vase  which  he  knows  .to  be  fragile, 


136  A    MINISTERIAL     HOLIDAY. 

and  which  he  himself  dares  not  touch  lest  he  should 
see  it  crumble  into  dust  at  his  feet. 

One  thing  might  have  reassured  him,  but  on  the 
contrary  it  disturbed  him.  Madame  de  Dreux,  instead 
of  showing  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  such  cordiality  and 
kindness  as  his  distinguished  position  and  agreeable 
personal  qualities  would  have  seemed  to  demand, 
always  received  him  with  coldness,  leaving  to  her  hus- 
band all  the  duties  of  a  host,  and  all  the  encourage- 
ment which  the  minister  received. 

Blanche  was  too  wise,  and  too  ambitious  for  Guy  to 
be  guilty  of  this  error  without  some  reason,  which 
was  all  sufficient  for  herself.  Did  she  dislike  this 
minister.  Mullan  wished  to  believe  this,  but  his 
reason  refused  to  accept  this  explanation,  and  he 
finally  believed  that  Madame  de  Dreux  avoided  Mon- 
sieur de  Fresnes  because  she  was  afraid  of  loving  him. 
And  he  was  right. 

Many  and  many  a  time,  when  she  listened  to  Lucien 
de  Fresnes — for  Blanche  listened  much  and  spoke 
little — she  felt  a  sudden  thrill. 

"  That  is  precisely  what  I  think,"  she  said,  as  she 
thought  over  his  words.  "  It  is  thus  that  I  compre- 
hend life.  It  seems  to  me  that  I  hear  my  own 
thoughts  put  into  words,  words  more  authoritative 
and  more  eloquent  than  any  I  could  find." 

Another  woman,  more  indulgent  to  herself,  might 
easily  have  been  carried  away  by  this  sympathy,  but 
Madame  de  Dreux  sternly  repelled  it.  She  shrank 
from  any  comparison  with  her  husband,  and  at  once 


A    MINISTERIAL     HOLIDAY.  137 

realized  that  this  man,  whose  views  and  sentiments  so 
nearly  resembled  her  own,  was  most  dangerous  to  her. 
She  always  knew  when  he  was  looking  at  her,  without 
meeting  his  eyes,  which  she  always  carefully  avoided. 
She  listened  to  the  voice  of  her  conscience,  which 
warned  her  of  her  peril.  She  measured  the  depth  of 
the  abyss  before  she  was  even  upon  the  brink.  The 
man  whom  she  would  gladly  have  associated  with  her 
existence  was  not  Guy,  it  was  Lucien.  Guy  was  a 
mere  phantom,  the  mannequin  on  whom  she  had 
draped  her  wishes,  her  aspirations,  and  her  tenderness. 
He,  who  was  the  incarnation  of  all  her  dreams,  was 
now  before  her — now  that  it  was  too  late.  The  poor 
woman  mourned  over  the  delusions  which  had  caused 
her  to  wreck  her  life. 

But  Madame  de  Dreux  was  not  the  woman  to  spend 
much  time  in  the  contemplation  of  a  hopeless  situa- 
tion. Not  being  able  to  alter  her  destiny,  she  deter- 
mined to  see  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  as  little  as  possible, 
and  above  all  things  to  seem  to  him  to  be  a  perfectly 
happy  wife.  Her  pride  had  always  led  her  to  adopt 
this  r61e,  and  in  his  presence  she  was  still  more  deter- 
mined to  do  so. 

Pity  from  him  would  have  been  intolerable,  and  his 
love,  awakened  only  by  his  pity,  would  have  been 
worse  than  his  dislike. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  had  been  prevented  from 
coming  to  Mesnil  by  her  coldness ;  he  feared  lest  he 
should  be  regarded  as  an  intruder,  and  still  more,  that 
he  should  seem  to  take  advantage  of  his  political  posi- 


138  A    MINISTERIAL     HOLIDAY. 

tion  to  enter  the  house  of  a  man  who  certainly  needed 
him.  Like  everybody  else,  except  Blanche,  he 
believed  in  Guy's  merits,  but  more  clear-sighted  than 
others,  he  had  detected  a  weak  spot  in  the  armor  of 
this  young  politician.  In  the  heat  of  a  discussion, 
arguments  carefully  prepared  and  fine  phrases  may 
have  their  weight ;  but  in  ordinary  conversations  an 
intelligent  man  soon  discovered  that,  well  as  Guy 
talked  politics,  he  could  on  other  occasions  say  very 
strange  things.  It  was  at  such  times  that  De  Fresnea 
noticed  that  Blanche  looked  at  her  husband  with  tho 
same  expression  that  she  might  have  looked  at  the 
tunic  of  Nessus.  Guy  did  not  seem  to  be  greatly 
troubled,  however ;  he  only  became  entirely  silent. 

"  Can  it  be,"  thought  De  Fresnes,  "that  this  eloquent 
man  is  eloquent  on  only  one  subject?  " 

To  this  question  succeeded  another,  which  was 
inevitable. 

**  It  must  be  his  wife  who  inspires  him,  and  yet  she 
never  speaks !  '•' 

A  little  reflection  proved  to  Lucien  that  if  she  did 
inspire  her  husband,  she  would  naturally  be  silent  her- 
self. He  relapsed  into  deep  thought,  from  which  he 
aroused  himself  with  a  sigh. 

He  had  purchased  that  spring,  a  small  estate  not  far 
from  Mesnil,  partly  because  the  situation  suited  him, 
but  more  because  he  was  inexplicably  attracted  by  the 
vicinity  of  Monsieur  and  Madame  de  Dreux.  The 
calm  beauty  of  the  latter,  her  entire  freedom  from 
coquetry,  had  already  inspired  him  with  tender  admi- 


A    MINISTERIAL    HOLIDAY.  139 

ration ;  but  if  this  woman  were  as  clever  as  he  now 
suspected,  his  curiosity  as  well  as  his  admiration  was 
aroused.  He  made  two  or  three  visits,  and  then  dared 
come  no  more.  The  unexpected  invitation  now  com- 
ing from  Guy,  gave  him  very  great  pleasure. 

In  the  country,  the  smallest  incidents  assume 
the  greatest  importance.  For  the  last  three  weeks 
Monsieur  de  Fresnes  had  dined  alone  in  his  large 
dining-room,  whose  walls  were  covered  with  the 
most  frightful  paper  which  he  had  not  yet  had  time 
to  replace. 

The  thought  that  for  one  evening  at  least  he  was 
not  only  to  get  out  of  that  gloomy  room,  but  was  also  to 
dine  in  the  companionship  of  young  and  pretty  women, 
raised  his  spirits  to  such  a  degree  that  he  ordered  his 
horse,  and  galloped  off  to  Mesnil. 

"  Monsieur  de  Fresnes !  "  announced  the  servants  as 
he  threw  open  the  door  of  the  salon. 

A  light  rustle  of  silken  garments  saluted  this 
unexpected  visitor. 

"  When  one  talks  of — "  murmured  Mullan,  rising 
slowly  from  his  chair. 

Blanche  was  already  standing.  Lucien  bowed  low 
before  her  as  he  lifted  with  ceremonious  courtesy  that 
cold,  beautiful  hand  to  his  lips.  Guy  pulled  up  a 
chair,  and  was  speedily  engaged  in  a  conversation  with 
"  his  Minister." 

"  It  was  necessary,  it  seems,  that  you  should  be 
invited  before  you  could  come  to  see  us,"  said  Madame 
Praxis,  in  a  tone  of  friendly  reproach. 


140  A    MINISTERIAL     HOLIDAY. 

She  always  said  what  she  pleased  to  every  one,  and 
was  allowed  entire  license  of  tongue. 

"  Your  absence,"  said  Monsieur  de  Grosraont,  "  has 
been  greatly  deplored,  but  we  know  the  claims — " 

44  Yes,"  interrupted  Madame  Rovery,  heedlessly, 
"  one  is  so  often  embarrassed  by  people  who  persist  in 
coming  to  see  you,  whether  you  want  them  or  not,  that 
to  find  one  that  errs  in  the  opposite  way,  is  a  great 
delight." 

Monsieur  de  Grosmont's  eyes  were  fixed  on  the 
fair  widow  with  such  intensity,  that  even  Guy 
noticed  it. 

"  I  always  knew  she  was  a  little  stupid,"  thought 
Mullan,  "but  I  did  her  injustice — she  is  more  than  a 
little  stupid." 

Blanche  could  not  repress  a  smile ;  the  fixed  look  on 
her  husband's  face,  the  utter  wonder  in  the  round  eyes 
of  her  guardian,  Mullan's  evident  satisfaction,  formed 
so  delightful  a  whole,  while  Madame  Rovery's  utter 
unconsciousness  completed  the  picture. 

After  the  arrival  of  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  Blanche 
felt  suddenly  young  again.  She  was  tempted  to  laugh 
aloud,  to  commit  some  girlish  folly,  to  leap  and  run  as 
dogs  do  on  the  return  of  their  masters.  She  began  to 
talk  with  a  grace  and  enthusiasm  that  reminded 
Mullan  of  the  early  days  of  her  married  life,  when  she, 
just  emancipated  from  the  conventionalities  by  which 
she  had  been  previously  bound,  opened  her  heart  to 
her  friends. 

The  Comtesse  Praxis  had  the  same  idea,  and  their 


A    MINISTERIAL    HOLIDAY.  141 

eyes  met  with  a  smile,  which  on  Mullan's  part  was  not 
free  from  irony. 

"  No  visit  of  mine  ever  excited  her  like  that ! " 

Guy  was  in  no  degree  astonished ;  he  knew  his  wife 
well,  had  seen  her  in  every  mood,  and  furthermore, 
had  no  memory  for  dates. 

When,  a  half  hour  later,  Lucien  de  Fresnes  felt  like 
a  man  who  had  been  for  a  little  while  at  the  theatre, 
but  went  away  without  having  seen  the  beginning  of 
the  end  of  the  play : 

"  What  a  strange  woman  !  "  he  said  to  himself,  "  and 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  those  beautiful  eyes  have  learned 
the  secret  of  tears. 


142  A     DINNER     PARTY. 

CHAPTER   XL 

A    DINNER    PARTY. 

A  DINNER  in  a  large  and  handsome  dining-room 
may  be  a  very  pretty  thing,  particularly  when 
the  background  of  the  feast  is  the  ocean.  The  long 
windows  were  thrown  wide  open,  so  that  the  sunset 
sky  was  fully  displayed,  flecked  as  it  was  by  those 
faint,  copper-colored  clouds,  which  are  common  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  at  that  hour.  The  light  came  through 
quivering  branches,  and  overhanging  vines,  touching 
here  and  there  the  polished  surface  of  a  leaf  shining 
like  metal,  and  thence  gliding  over  the  billowy  masses 
of  silken  skirts  as  they  lay  around  the  chairs  occupied 
by  the  ladies  seated  at  the  table,  bringing  out  the  hue 
of  a  pearl  or  a  jewel.  The  natural  flowers  on  the 
table  or  worn  in  the  hair,  seemed  almost  transparent. 

It  has  been  said  that  a  dinner  should  never  take 
place  except  by  candle-light.  Those  who  said  so  never 
tried  one  on  the  seashore  at  sunset. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  enjoyed  this  fete  given  in  his 
honor  most  thoroughly.  The  ladies  were  dressed  with 
extreme  elegance,  for  they  were  glad  to  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  being  so.  Women  as  a  rule,  never  go  away 
for  six  weeks  without  carrying  one  dress  "which 
probably  will  not  be  put  on,  but  something  might 
happen ! " 


A    DINNER    PARTY.  143 

This  something  always  happens  and  the  precious 
robe  sees  the  light,  and  with  it  certain  accessories  and 
jewels  too  fine  for  every  day. 

Madame  Rovery,  on  coming  down  stairs  five  minutes 
before  dinner,  "for  the  first  time  in  her  life,"  as 
Monsieur  de  Grosmont  grumblingly  asserted,  raised 
her-  eyebrows  when  she  saw  Madeline  in  her  crisp 
white  muslin  and  laces  with  cherry-colored  ribbons, 
feeling  that  her  own  richer  toilet  was  not  half  as 
effective. 

This  assemblage  of  elegance,  to  which  a  man  in 
Paris  is  so  accustomed  that  he  does  not  notice  it, 
became  in  these  surroundings  something  exceedingly 
picturesque. 

Dinner  was  over  and  the  party  went  out  on  the 
terrace,  where  the  sun  now  hidden  behind  a  bank  of 
clouds  heaped  low  against  the  horizon,  offered  a  superb 
spectacle  like  an  immense  fire.  They  amused  them- 
selves for  some  time  watching  the  crumbling  towers 
and  palaces,  the  rapidly  shifting  mountains  and  cav- 
erns, and  then  they  formed  themselves  into  groups 
as  usual. 

Miss  Amy,  who  had  long  since  given  up  teasing 
Mullan,  took  care  not  to  go  very  far  from  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes,  and  assumed  a  graceful  position  with  her 
clear  cut  profile  against  the  sky. 

"  This  time,  my  dear,  you  are  throwing  away  your 
time,"  whispered  the  Comtesse  kindly  in  her  ear,  as 
she  passed  her  in  going  back  to  the  house  to  play  her 
game  of  bezique  with  Monsieur  de  Grosmont. 


144  A    DINNER     PARTY. 

Miss  Amy  pretended  not  to  hear,  and  yet  she  was 
not  deaf. 

"I  suppose  you  are  anxious  to  return  to  Paris?" 
said  Lucien  to  Madame  de  Dreux. 

"  No,"  she  replied,  "  I  love  the  country.  I  love  the 
repose  here." 

Without  knowing  it,  she  had  dropped  her  voice.  A 
certain  weariness  was  perceptible  in  her  low  tones. 

"But  you,"  she  added,  "must  find  this  solitude  very 
irksome  ?  " 

He  smiled. 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  I  like  the  country,  I  like  the  sea, 
and  I  like  also  the  repose  which  we  men  rarely  get." 

Blanche  thought  to  herself  that,  woman  as  she  was, 
she  might  say  the  same  thing,  and  singularly  enough 
was  annoyed  that  she  could  not  say  so  aloud.  Up  to 
this  moment  she  had  been  prudent  by  instinct. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  your  position  is  a  most  exacting 
one,  and  do  what  you  will,  you  are  nearly  sure  of  dis- 
pleasing everybody." 

"  Precisely,  if  I  allow  my  conscience  to  be  my 
guide,"  answered  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  with  a  smile. 
"It  is  as  you  say,  an  exacting  position,  and  also  a 
perilous  one.  There  are  but  few  who,  entering 
political  life,  succeed  in  being  a  credit  to  their  fami- 
lies and  an  honor  to  their  country." 

The  slight  bow  with  which  he  concluded  his 
sentence,  showed  Blanche  that  he  intended  an  allu- 
sion to  her  husband  in  these  last  words.  She  smiled 
graciously  as  she  slightly  inclined  her  head,  but  with- 


A     DINNER    PARTY.  145 

out  appearing  to  attach  much  importance  to  this 
compliment. 

"  The  usual  result,"  she  said,  "  the  reward  for  all 
these  exertions  is  generally  base  ingratitude,  if  not 
absolute  hatred ! " 

"What  does  that  matter?"  answered  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes,  gravely.  He  too  had  lowered  his  voice,  as  if 
this  conversation  had  been  a  confidential  one.  "It  is 
often  hatred,  sometimes  contempt,  and  always  ingrati- 
tude ;  but  if  some  few  encourage  you  living,  and 
weep  you  dead,  if  these  few  are  those  you  love 
and  respect,  is  it  not  a  good  thing  to  live  and  die 
in  the  accomplishment  of  one's  duty,  and  in  the  hope 
of  a  future  for  our  country  which  shall  realize  all  our 
dreams?" 

"  We  shall  not  see  their  realization,"  said  Blanche. 

"  What  of  that?  Progress  has  no  age.  We  are  the 
stones  with  which  it  builds  its  walls." 

"  Stones  do  not  suffer,  and  Progress  is  so  slow ! " 
answered  Madame  de  Dreux. 

A  long  silence  followed.  The  day  had  slowly  faded 
into  night.  On  the  right  a  light-house  shone  at  regular 
intervals.  Blanche  sat  watching  it.  The  dark  sky 
looked  more  intensely  black  and  more  impenetrable 
with  each  momentary  flash.  Monsieur  de  Fresnes 
followed  the  eyes  of  his  hostess. 

"  Progress,"  he  said,  "  is  like  that  light-house.    After 

taking  one  onward   step  Humanity  falls  back  again, 

and  in  despair  at  its  fall  believes  that  never  before  has 

it  sunk  so  low;  but  each  struggle  is  like  a  flash  of 

9 


146  A     DINNEU    PARTY. 

light,  which  all  combined  creates  a  beacon  that  points 
out  our  danger  and  guides  us  safely  into  port." 

Miss  Amy  rose  and  retired  from  the  scene.  Madame 
Praxis  was  right — her  time  was  wasted  here.  This 
man  was  insupportable  with  his  metaphysical  talk.  At 
the  door  she  met  Guy. 

"  Where  is  Monsieur  de  Fresnes?"  he  asked. 

"  You  did  not  give  him  to  me  to  keep,"  she  replied, 
with  her  usual  abruptness.  "Nevertheless,  I  will 
inform!  you  that  he  is  on  the  terrace  with  Madame  de 
Dreux,  who  will  certainly  take  a  frightful  cold  while 
she  listens  to  his  lectures  on  light-houses." 

*'  Light-houses  !  "  repeated  Guy,  quite  amazed. 

"Yes,  and  I  assure  you  that  the  conversation  struck 
me  as  dull  enough  to  be  on  politics." 

She  passed  on,  and  De  Dreux  saw  his  wife  approach- 
ing with  the  Minister.  When  close  to  her  husband, 
Blanche  started. 

"  I  did  not  see  you,"  she  said. 

They  all  went  into  the  salon  together.  There  was 
music  and  some  brilliant  conversation.  It  was  mid- 
night when  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  went  away,  determined 
£o  come  again  as  soon  as  possible.  Never  had  the 
paper  in  his  dining-room  been  half  as  hideous  as  the 
next  morning  when  he  sat  at  his  solitary  breakfast. 

"  Take  it  into  my  library,"  he  said  to  his  valet.  "  I 
will  never  eat  here  again,  the  room  is  too  ugly." 

His  library  looked  out  on  the  sea.  He  installed 
himself  at  the  window  from  which  he,  leaning  out, 
could  see  Mesnil.  He  leaned  out  more  than  once 
that  day. 


A    DINNER    PARTY.  147 

He  went  to  the  chateau  again  that  week.  It  was  a 
visit  demanded  by  politeness,  which  he  found  very 
agreeable,  but  was  not  gratified  as  he  had  hoped  to  be, 
by  having  an  opportunity  to  talk  with  Blanche. 

After  this  his  visits  became  frequent,  and  with  an 
astuteness  quite  worthy  of  his  political  aspirations,  he 
became  quite  intimate  with  Gerard  Lecomte,  whom  he 
frequently  invited  to  dinner. 

In  a  short  time  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  had  become 
the  friend  of  the  house.  Guy  was  delighted,  and 
manifested  his  joy  with  so  much  boyishness  that 
Blanche  could  not  refrain  from  a  reproof. 

"  One  would  think  to  hear  you,"  she  said,  "that  the 
protection  of  this  gentleman  were  indispensable  to 
your  happiness.  Ah  !  my  dear  husband,  you  are  quite 
as  good  as  he  !  " 

"  My  dear  !  "  cried  Guy,  with  a  gesture  of  passionate 
protestation. 

"So  far  as  politics  are  concerned,  I  mean." 

"  Do  you  really  think  so  ? "  asked  Monsieur  de 
Dreux,  with  naivetS. 

"  Of  course  I  do !  Make  him  your  frien'd  if  you 
can ;  he  pleases  you.  I  am  willing  that  it  should  be 
so,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  such  an  exhibition 
of  your  sentiments." 

"  Blanche,  it  is  not  that  he  pleases  me,"  said  Guy, 
entreatingly,  "  it  is  that  he  is  useful  to  me." 

Blanche  turned  her  back  upon  him  before  he  had 
finished  his  phrase. 

His  temper  was  a  little  disturbed  at  this,  and  he 


148  A.    DINNER    PARTY. 

went  with  the  story  of  his  troubles  to  Mullan,  his 
usual  confidant. 

"I  think  it  is  too  bad,"  he  said,  as  he  concluded. 
"  I  become  quite  intimate  with  a  man  of  influence,  who 
is  quite  disposed  to  exercise  that  influence  in  my 
behalf.  A  man  who  is  amiable  and  thoroughly  well- 
bred,  whose  society  I  really  enjoy.  And  my  wife 
can't  endure  him." 

"Tut!  tut!"  said  Mullan,  "you  exaggerate  —  she 
does  like  him." 

"No,  I  assure  you,  you  are  mistaken.  Let  me  tell 
you  what  I  have  thought  sometimes." 

"Go  on,"  answered  his  friend,  trembling  lest  by 
some  strange  chance  his  friend  for  once  in  his  life  had 
divined  the  truth. 

"  Well !  I  have  thought  she  was  jealous  of  him." 

"  In  what  way?     I  do  not  understand." 

"She  thinks  he  has  too  much  influence  over  me. 
She  is  jealous  of  him  in  that  way." 

"  Oh  !  "  answered  Mullan.  "  But  I  think  you  are 
mistaken.  Madame  de  Dreux  is  too  intelligent — " 

"Too  intelligent  for  what?"  asked  the  young 
deputy,  when  his  friend  hesitated. 

"Not  to  see  that  a  debutant  like  you  must  have 
some  one  to  lean  on,  for  a  while  at  least.  Pray  let  me 
hear  no  more  of  this  last  whim  of  yours." 

"  Come  now,  Mullan,  you  have  a  good  deal  of  influ- 
ence over  my  wife.  Make  her  understand  that  her 
determination  to  detest  this  poor  De  Fresnes  worries 
me,  and  that  I  shall  never  get  on  if  she  does  not  show 
him  more  cordiality." 


A    DINNER    PARTY.  149 

"  Very  good,  I  will  tell  her  this,"  answered  Mullan, 
impatiently. 

This  gentleman  kept  his  promise.  The  next  day, 
finding  himself  alone  with  Blanche,  he  suddenly  said: 

"  De  Dreux  wishes  you  to  make  yourself  more 
agreeable  to  De  Fresnes." 

"  And  do  yon  ?  "  asked  the  lad}',  turning  toward  him 
with  an  impatient  gesture. 

%i  Would  you  be  very  much  astonished  if  I,  too, 
should  advise  you  to  be  more  amiable  to  him?" 

Blanche  looked  at  him.  A  recollection  of  the  past, 
which  had  long  since  been  forgotten,  came  back  to 
her. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  in  a  calm,  steady  voice,  "  I  should 
be  very  much  astonished." 

"  Then  you  would  make  a  great  mistake,  dear 
Madame." 

He  took  her  hand  affectionately  in  his. 

"lam  an  old  rover,"  he  said;  "I  have  wandered 
through  the  highways  and  byways  of  life,  where  my 
predecessors  have  left  more  or  less  wool  on  the  briars, 
and  I  have  learned  many  things.  Permit  me  to  tell 
you  that  I  love  you  very  sincerely.  In  the  name 
of  this  affection  which — you  have  probably  forgotten 
this,  but  I  have  not — has  been  occasionally  more  dem- 
onstrative in  past  times  than  it  ought  to  have  been,  I 
beg  you  not  to  contradict  your  husband  on  this  point. 
He  complained  to  me  to-day,  and  soon  he  will  complain 
to  others,  and  as  an  antipathy  to  a  man  like  de  Fresnes 
is  perfectly  inconceivable  to  the  majority  of  people, 


150  A    DINNER     PARTY. 

they  will  think  that  your  coldness  is  affected.  Be 
wise,  my  dear  friend,  be  wise  in  season,  and  avoid  all 
extremes.  Ah !  I  can  give  you  many  a  lesson  of  wis- 
dom. Just  think  of  it !  Who  would  ever  have  be- 
lieved it?" 

He  was  apparently  in  jest,  but  he  spoke  a  little 
faster  than  usual,  and  his  voice  trembled. 

"Very  good,"  answered  Blanche.  "You  seem  to 
have  formed  a  conspiracy  against  me,  and  I  surrender. 
Only  beg  my  husband  not  to  say  any  more  to  me  on 
the  subject,  for  to  hear  him  talk  any  more  about  it 
would  be  beyond  my  strength." 

"  I  will  attend  to  your  wishes,"  answered  Mullan. 

When  Madame  de  Dreux  was  alone,  she  extended 
her  arms  and  drew  a  long  breath. 

"  Falsehoods  !  Falsehoods  !  "  she  said,  clasping  her 
beautiful  hands.  "  Is  there  never  to  be  an  end  to 
them  ?  Shall  I  ever  have  the  right  to  speak  the  truth  ? 
Other  women  lie  from  vanity ;  I,  because  it  is  my  duty 
to  screen  my  husband's  shortcomings  !  " 

The  next  day,  about  six  o'clock,  Monsieur  de  Fres- 
nes  passed  under  the  terrace  at  Mesnil.  In  one  corner, 
which  he  well  knew,  a  slender  form  was  leaning  for- 
ward with  her  eyes  riveted  on  all  the  splendors  of  the 
sea,  which  looked  like  molten  gold.  How  many  times 
he,  concealed  by  a  tree  or  a  rock,  had  watched  this 
lovely  profile  leaning  over  the  balustrade,  on  which  so 
many  tempests  had  beaten  !  He  remembered,  too,  that 
as  he  approached  she  had  invariably  departed  without 
any  affectation  of  haste,  but  yet  rapidly  enough  to 
obviate  the  necessity  of  returning  his  salutation. 


A    DINNER    PARTY.  151 

But  this  day  she  did  not  seem  to  have  seen  him,  for 
she  sat  motionless  as  if  carved  from  stone.  If  he 
could  have  read  the  heart  within  this  statue  he  would 
have  seen  how  much  this  immobility  cost  this  haughty 
woman.  But  he  suspected  nothing  of  this. 

Surprised  and  greatly  pleased,  he  rode  up  close  to 
the  wall,  but  she  did  not  give  him  the  hand  that  lay 
on  the  balustrade. 

"  Good  evening,  Madame,"  he  said,  deferentially. 

"  Good  evening,"  answered  Blanche.  "  You  are  on 
your  wray  home?" 

He  reined  in  his  impatient  horse. 

"  Yes,  I  have  had  a  charming  ride.  Was  there  ever 
a  lovelier  night?" 

"Lovely  indeed!  When  will  you  dine  with  us 
again  ?  " 

"  Whenever  you  deign  to  ask  me." 

"  To-morrow  ?  " 

"  To-morrow,  if  you  will  allow  me." 

They  were  both  silent  for  some  minutes,  each  feel- 
ing that  there  was  something  odd  under  this  apparently 
commonplace  conversation. 

"You  like  this  spot?"  he  said,  at  last.  "I  have 
seen  you  here  so  many  times." 

Blanche  drew  back  a  little.  She  was  already 
reproaching  herself  for  her  unnecessary  cordiality  to 
this  man,  against  whom  she  wished,  at  all  cost,  to 
defend  herself. 

"  From  a  distance,  I  mean,"  continued  Monsieur 
de  Fresnes,  "this  terrace  needed  a  chatelaine  to  modify 
its  precise  regularity." 


152  A    DINNER    PARTY. 

I 

This  was  not  in  the  least  what  he  had  intended  to 
say.  He  looked  at  Blanche,  and  she  at  the  sea.  A 
faint  color  rose  and  fell  upon  her  cheeks,  following  the 
irregular  pulsations  of  her  heart. 

"To-morrow,  then,"  he  said,  as  he  gave  his  horse 
the  rein. 

She  waved  an  adieu.  At  the  turn  of  the  road  he 
looked  back  with  a  last  salutation. 

She  threw  herself  back. 

"  Ah !  Good  Heavens !  "  she  said  to  herself.  "  What 
was  I  doing?  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  be  so  false  to 
my  instincts  as  to  agree  to  be  the  slave  of  another's 
will.  I  shall  never  release  myself  from  this  mass  of 
falsehoods.  I  shall  see  him  to-morrow ;  how,  then,  can 
I  be  unhappy  to-day  ?  I  dare  not  say,  even  to  myself, 
that  I  am  so." 

She  pressed  her  hand  on  her  heart  to  still  its  beat- 
ings, and  then  laying  her  head  on  the  rough  granite 
wall,  wept  like  a  child. 

The  next  day  was  a  long  one  to  Lucien  de  Fresnes. 
He  placed  his  desk  at  a  window,  from  which  he  could 
see  Mesnil,  and  he  listened  to  the  voice  of  his  own 
heart. 

In  vain  had  Blanche  defended  herself;  she  had  not 
succeeded  in  vailing  her  true  self  from  this  man  who 
was  so  eager  and  curious  to  know  her.  Hidden  as 
was  her  soul,  and  discreet  as  were  her  words,  they,  like 
antique  statues,  allowed  their  perfect  outlines  to  be 
seen. 

Lucien  felt  that  in  Madame  de  Dreux  was  concealed 


A     DINNKR     PARTY.  153 

another  woman,  called  Blanche.  He  noticed  how  the 
amethystine  eyes  of  this  woman  changed  when  she 
spoke  to  her  children,  or  when  she  talked  to  her  friend. 
He  understood  that  to  the  privileged  few  this  woman 
was  very  different  from  her  whom  .the  world  knew. 

An  ardent  longing  awoke  within  him,  to  be  one  of 
those  few;  one  of  those  whom  she  loved.  Under 
what  title  he  should  be  admitted,  he  did  not  take  the 
trouble  to  ask  himself. 

The  invitation  given  by  Madame  de  Dreux,  opened 
to  him,  as  he  believed,  an  entrance  into  her  close-shut 
heart.  But  such  was  his  respect  for  Madame  de  Dreux 
that  he  dared  not  let  her  see  his  joy. 

He  came  the  next  day,  and  found  Blanche  not  cor- 
dial, for  she  could  not  change  so  suddenly,  but  at  least 
accessible.  He  talked  with  her  and  Madame  Lecomte 
for  an  hour.  Madeline  knew  how  to  draw  her  friend 
out,  and  in  her  presence  Blanche  found  herself  with- 
out defence.  She  had  always  spoken  to  her  with  such 
frankness. 

"  Tell  me,"  said  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  "  how  would 
you  define  happiness?" 

"Happiness!"  cried  Madeline,  "is  to  love  your 
husband  when  he  loves  you." 

"  Very  good  !  "  assented  the  young  Minister.  "  That 
is,  indeed,  an  ideal  perfection.  And  you,  Madame?" 
he  asked,  turning  to  Blanche. 

She  hesitated  for  a  moment. 

"  Happiness,"  she  said,  at  last,  "  is  to  be  able  to 
speak  and  act  as  one  chooses,  without  being  obliged  to 
dissimulate  or  lie." 


154  A     DINNER     PARTY. 

"  Ah  ! "  cried  Mullan,  who  was  at  a  little  distance, 
"it  is  easy  to  see,  Madame,  that  you  are  not  a  political 
woman." 

Everybody  laughed,  Guy  more  heartily  than  the 
others.  If  any  one  in  the  world  suspected  Blanche  of 
understanding  politics  in  any  degree,  it  was  certainly 
not  her  husband. 

"  Happiness,"  said  Miss  Amy,  whose  opinion  had 
not  been  asked,  "  is  to  have  a  great  deal  of  money, 
and  a  nice  little  husband." 

"  You  agree  with  me,  then  ?  "  said  Madeline. 

"Only  half  way,"  interposed  the  Comtesse  Praxis. 

Everybody  spoke  at  once  for  a  moment. 

"And  you,  sir?"  said  Madeline  to  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes.  "What  do  you  call  happiness?" 

"  Happiness,"  he  answered,  in  a  low  voice,  and 
without  looking  at  Blanche,  "is  to  meet  on  this  earth 
the  perfection  of  all  virtues,  and  to  adore  her  without 
even  telling  her  so,  lest  she  should  be  disturbed  by  an 
avowal  of  such  weakness." 

Madeline  did  not  understand.  Blanche  turned  her 
head  away  with  a  quivering  sigh.  She  felt  a  sharp 
sting  in  her  heart  which  her  conscience  told  her  was 
remorse. 


THE     FQUIXOCTIAL     STORM.  155 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    EQUINOCTIAL    STORM. 

A  BOUT  the  end  of  August,  a  series  of  tempests 
Jl\.  visited  the  coast  of  Brittany,  to  the  great 
damage  of  vessels  of  all  kinds  and  to  the  ennui  of  the 
guests  at  the  chateau.  These  persons  did  not  like 
had  weather.  In  the  hunting  season,  they  accepted 
willingly  enough  fog  and  rain,  and  came  back  at  night 
•wet  to  the  skin,  but  in  the  best  of  spirits  if  their  game 
bags  were  full ;  but  in  summer,  when  no  other  amuse- 
ment took  the  place  of  the  agreeable  life  in  the  open 
air,  who  could  preserve  his  serenity,  show  an  amiable 
disposition  and  find  any  employment  for  his  time? 

Early  on  the  second  day  of  the  rain,  Madame  Rovery 
received  a  letter  which  recalled  her  at  once  to  Paris. 
This,  at  all  events,  was  what  she  said,  and  no  one  took 
the  trouble  to  institute  inquiries  to  ascertain  if  she  had 
really  received  a  letter  that  day. 

It  was  very  strange.  Ever  since  Monsieur  de 
Grosmont  had  so  openly  manifested  his  prejudice 
against  the  pretty  widow,  she  had  lost  half  her  charm 
in  the  eyes  of  Guy.  Certain  persons  always  get  rid  of 
their  horses  when  their  friends  disapprove  of  them. 
Guy  might  have  kept  his  horses,  but  he  did  not  care 
to  retain  the  good  graces  of  Madame  Rovery.  They 
quarrelled  constantly,  and  finally  a  pretty  sharp  dis- 


156  THE    EQUINOCTIAL    STORM. 

pute  with  Miss  Amy  was  followed  by  another,  with 
her  sister ;  the  wind  and  the  rain  did  the  rest.  A  good 
carriage,  tightly  closed  from  the  rain,  took  the  two 
ladies  to  the  next  town,  whence  aided  by  a  post-chaise 
and  horses,  they  fled  to  more  genial  skies. 

Monsieur  de  Grosmont  witnessed  this  departure 
with  the  satisfaction  of  one  who  long  since  predicted 
the  event.  He  warmly  congratulated  Monsieur  de 
Dreux  on  having  discovered  a  plausible  pretext  to 
break,  without  an  open  quarrel,  relations  which  in  his 
eyes  were  so  objectionable,  and  he  advised  him  to  watch 
over  Blanche  that  she  should  not  be  tempted  to  renew 
them  when  she  returned  to  Paris.  Guy  assured  him 
that  this  intimacy  should  never  be  resumed. 

On  this  assurance,  Monsieur  de  Grosmont,  satisfied 
with  having  seen  with  his  own  eyes  that  the  happiness 
of  his  ward  was  assured,  also  ordered  horses  and 
departed  for  Itaty,  where  he  proposed  to  pass  the 
winter.  He  too  disliked  bad  weather. 

Gerard  and  Madeline  were,  on  the  contrary,  in  a 
state  of  intense  enthusiasm.  They  went  out  early  in 
the  morning  and  could  hardly  be  torn  from  the  sea 
shore  when  night  came  on,  and  gave  themselves  barely 
time  to  dress  for  dinner.  They  came  in  thoroughly 
drenched,  even  when  it  was  not  raining,  for  huge  waves 
had  more  than  once  overtaken  them. 

The  village  of  Mesnil  sheltered  a  poor  population 
of  fishermen,  who  in  a  storm  pulled  their  bouts  high 
up  on  the  shore,  retired  within  their  cottages,  and 
waited  until  fine  weather  came  again.  Advised  by 


THE     EQUINOCTIAL     STORM.  157 

Blanche,  Guy  had  given  them  a  safety-boat,  and  also 
a  fire  engine.  The  latter  had  never  been  used,  as  no 
one  understood  the  mechanism.  Carefully  covered  with 
oil-cloth,  the  engine  stood  under  a  shed,  near  the  Mairie, 
and  served  as  a  home  to  thousands  of  spiders. 

The  safet}r-boat  was  less  neglected ;  its  build  pre- 
vented it  from  being  used  except  for  precisely  the 
service  for  which  it  was  intended.  It  could  not  be 
used  for  fishing  nor  for  smuggling,  the  two  ways  in 
which  this  maritime  population  gained  their  bread.  It 
was  greatly  respected,  however,  for  it  was  a  boat, 
and  fishermen  always  respect  anything  which  belongs 
to  the  navy.  They  therefore  kept  it  in  a  condition 
which  would  enable  them  to  use  it  in  case  of  need. 

Monsieur  and  Madame  Lecomte  were  never  weary  of 
watching  these  stupendous  waves  roll  up,  as  if  about 
to  swallow  the  earth,  then  break  not  far  away,  cov- 
ering them  with  spray,  and  yet  never  passing  the 
boundary  marked  out.  There  was  something  strange 
and  mysterious  in  this,  in  spite  of  all  the  explanations 
given  by  science,  and  Gerard  was  quite  as  much  inter- 
ested as  Madeline. 

When  the  tempest  increased  in  violence,  when  the 
waves  mounted  above  the  embankment  which  pro- 
tected this  poor  little  fishing  village,  and  dashed  in 
foaming  jets  an  hundred  feet  in  the  air,  or  spread  in 
luminous  points  like  a  bouquet  of  fireworks,  the 
husband  and  wife  looked  at  each  other  with  a  smile 
of  ecstasy. 

Five  years  of  happiness  had  taught  them  to  under- 


158  THE     EQUINOCTIAL    STORM. 

stand  each  other,  which  is  the  best  way  of  loving.  In 
the  early  days  of  married  life  there  is  always  a  certain 
constraint  between  husband  and  wife.  This  restraint 
is  born  of  timidity,  often  of  distrust.  These  two 
beings,  who  are  now  bound  together  for  life,  are  totally 
ignorant  of  each  other's  peculiarity,  knowing  only  just 
what  social  convenance  permits.  A  young  girl  jeal- 
ously guards  her  innermost  heart  from  the  man  she 
loves,  as  well  as  her  thoughts  and  her  feelings.  After 
marriage  she  allows  her  husband  to  read  them,  and 
happy,  indeed,  is  he,  if  he  discovers  the  germ  of  virtues 
which  his  fostering  care  may  develope.  But  the  hus- 
band, on  the  contrary,  is  apt  to  shut  himself  up  more 
closely  than  ever  with  his  business  occupations  or  his 
studies — with  all  the  occupations  implied  in  a  solid 
education — with  all  the  subjects  for  thought,  amassed 
in  a  long  experience  of  life.  He  loves  his  wife,  and 
he  prefers  her  to  all  other  women,  and  yet  she  is  not 
his  companion,  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word. 

Such  was  not  the  case  between  Madeline  and 
Gerard ;  their  characters,  their  tastes,  and  above  all, 
the  high  idea  which  they  both  had  of  marriage,  had 
attracted  them  to  each  other.  They  had  the  same 
thoughts,  and  often  expressed  them  in  the  same  words 
at  the  same  moment.  They  were,  therefore,  never 
more  happy  than  when  able  to  pass  a  few  hours  alone 
together  in  the  depths  of  the  woods,  or  on  the  sea-shore. 

"  You  ought  to  come  with  us,"  said  Madeline,  one 
night,  to  her  friend.  "  You  can't  imagine  how  glorious 


THE     EQUINOCTIAL    STORM.  159 

"I  know  all  about  it,"  answered  Blanche,  with  a 
tinge  of  regret  in  her  voice  ;  "  I  spent  a  summer  here 
once  with  my  guardian  and  his  wife.  It  was  very 
delightful." 

"Come  with  us  to-morrow,  then;  that  is,  if  this 
storm  continues.  Oh!  I  ought  not  to  say  that!"  she 
added,  a  little  ashamed  of  her  selfishness. 

"I  will  try,"  answered  Madame  de  Dreux;  "it  is  so 
long  since  I  saw  a  storm.  There  are  no  ships  in  sight, 
I  hope?" 

"No,  nothing  but  the  sea  and  the  sky.  Monsieur 
de  Fresnes,  this  afternoon,  was  as  foolish  as  we ;  he 
could  not  tear  himself  away.  A  minister  ought,  I 
should  think,  to  be  weary  of  tempests ! " 

"  Was  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  there  ?  "  asked  Blanche, 
uneasily. 

"  Yes,  on  his  big  black  horse." 

"De  Fresnes  is  very  wise.  He  wishes  to  become 
accustomed  to  the  fury  of  masses,"  said  Mullan.  "  It 
is  a  most  excellent  parliamentary  exercise." 

"  He  would  do  better  to  come  here  and  amuse  us  a 
little,"  sighed  Madame  Praxis.  "  You  are  none  of 
you  especially  amusing,  my  good  friends.  Guy  has 
his  correspondence,  the  Lecomtes  roam  the  sea-shore 
all  the  time,  Mullan  reads  the  reviews,  Blanche  is  as 
silent  as  a  tomb,  the  neighbors  do  not  come  because  it 
rains.  Do  you  know  that  in  the  last  three  days  I  have 
begun  one  hundred  and  eighteen  times  a  new  and 
complicated  game  of  patience,  which  is  called  la 
Belle  Alliance?  Does  that  look  as  if  I  were  much 
amused?" 


160  THE     EQUINOCTIAL     STORM. 

"We  will  do  better  to-morrow,"  said  Blanche, 
gently.  "I  beg  your  pardon,  dear  friend,  for  having 
neglected  you.  I  will  do  so  no  more." 

During  the  evening,  a  fisherman  came  to  announce 
that  there  was,  in  all  probability,  a  wreck  off  the  coast, 
for  spars  had  been  thrown  upon  the  shore. 

"  The  night  will  be  very  bad,"  added  the  sailor. 
"  Fortunately,  ever}rbody  is  on  shore." 

An  idea  suddenly  occurred  to  Blanche. 

"Is  the  life-boat  in  good  order?"  she  asked. 

"  Yes,  Madame.  As  soon  as  this  bad  weather  came 
on  we  had  it  looked  to." 

"  That  was  well  done,"  said  Blanche,  dismissing  the 
man  with  a  small  gift  of  money. 

The  night  was  terrible.  The  sea  rolled  up  among 
the  rocks  with  a  noise  like  cannon,  and  the  chateau 
trembled  with  the  shock.  The  wind  blew  violently, 
and  the  trees  in  the  park  groaned  and  swayed  wildly 
to  and  fro.  As  early  as  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
masters  and  servants  were  on  foot  after  a  sleepless 
night. 

"If  this  lasts  twenty-four  hours  longer,"  said  the 
Comtesse  Praxis,  "I  shall  go  back  to  Paris,  arid  shall 
insist  on  your  all  going  with  me.  There  is  no  sense  in 
staying  in  such  a  place  when  there  is  such  weather  as 
this.  I  dreamed  all  night  of  Dante's  Hell." 

Blanche,  with  her  brow  pressed  against  the  glass  of 
a  window  in  the  grand  salon,  looked  out  on  the  low 
sky  and  blurred  horizon.  Beyond  the  terrace,  which 
cut  off  all  view  of  the  shore,  she  beheld  the  stretch  of 


161 

gray  and  troubled  waters.  At  this  distance  the  waves 
looked  like  simple  wrinkles,  but  the  enormous  white 
lines  of  foam  which  they  left  behind  them  were  like 
the  scars  of  monstrous  wounds.  All  was  gray;  even 
the  daylight  seemed  to  come  through  glass  of  unequal 
thickness. 

"  It  must  be  magnificent  down  on  the  shore,"  said 
Madeline  to  her  friend.  "Will  you  come?" 

Without  answering,  Madame  de  Dreux  clasped  her 
hands  and  murmured: 

"Oh!  my  God!" 

Madeline,  in  deadly  terror,  turned  and  looked  in  the 
direction  where  the  eyes  of  her  friend  were  riveted. 

"  A  ship  !  "  she  cried. 

"Yes,  and  coming  on  shore,"  said  Blanche,  turning 
toward  the  others. 

"Now,  gentlemen,  do  your  duty,  and  we,  ladies,  will 
see  if  we  can  be  of  service.  We  must  try  to  save 
these  men  who  are  in  such  peril." 

She  spoke  in  a  quick  voice,  raised  very  little  more 
than  usual,  but  it  had  a  certain  peremptory  sharpness 
which  every  one  knew  was  to  be  obeyed.  In  one 
moment  the  women  brought  out  blankets,  cordials 
and  medicines — all  in  short,  which  was  needed  in 
cases  of  shipwreck. 

These  things  were  carried  down  to  the  village,  and 
the  people  from  the  chateau,  well  wrapped,  hurried 
down  the  avenue  toward  the  shore. 

The  rain  had  ceased,  and  even  at  intervals  a  yellow 
light  indicated  that  the  sun  was  coming  out. 
10 


162  THE     EQUINOCTIAL     STORM. 

When  they  left  the  hill  which  sheltered  them  against 
the  west  wind,  they  were  nearly  blown  over  by  its 
violence.  While  they  were  still  a  hundred  yards  from 
the  shore,  they  were  drenched  by  the  spray  of  the 
waves.  Great  flecks  of  yellow  foam  were  scattered 
over  their  garments,  sinister  harbingers  of  tempests. 
They  huddled  close  together,  down  on  the  shingles, 
where  the  population  of  Mesnil  was  already  assembled 
to  watch  the  ship,  now  rapidly  approaching. 

"  What  do  you  think  ?  "  asked  Blanche,  of  an  old 
sailor  who  had  made  several  voyages  around  the 
world. 

"  Madame,  I  think  the  brig  will  come  ashore  with 
its  crew  and  its  cargo — it  must  be  so.  Unfortunately, 
the  tide  is  going  out,  and  the  vessel  will  not  be  carried 
up  on  the  beach  as  far  as  the  sand." 

"  And  then  ?  " 

"  Well !  then  it  will  founder  on  the  rocks.  This  is 
a  bad  place.  This  coast  is  not  calculated  to  let  a 
vessel  come  on  shore ;  it  will  break  to  pieces." 

The  old  sailor  extinguished  his  pipe,  which  out  of 
respect  he  had  taken  from  his  lips. 

"Is  it  a  French  brig? "  asked  Guy. 

"  Yes,  sir ;  don't  you  see  the  flag  ?  You  won't  see 
it  long,  though." 

Madeline  shivered,  and  clung  to  her  husband.  She 
was  afraid — her  teeth  chattered  with  emotion  as  much 
as  with  cold.  He  placed  her  in  a  somewhat  sheltered 
corner,  and  stood  close  by  her  side. 

"How  many  men  should  you  say  were  on  board?" 
asked  Mullan,  adjusting  his  glass. 


THE     EQUINOCTIAL    STORM.  163 

"I  can  see  nine,  sir." 

"  Can  they  be  saved  ?  "  gasped  Blanche. 

The  old  sailor  shook  his  head. 

"  There  is  very  little  chance  of  it,  I  fear,  Madame." 

The  spectators  held  their  breath ;  the  ship  was  not 
now  three  hundred  yards  from  the  shore,  and  was 
plunging  directly  upon  the  rocks. 

Gerard's  voice  was  now  heard,  ringing  like  a  bugle 
call,  above  the  frightful  tumult  of  the  wind  and 
the  sea. 

"  The  life-boat !  "  he  shouted.  "  At  least  we  can  try 
it,  pilot,  can't  we  ?  " 

"  We  can  always  try,  sir,"  answered  the  sailor, 
deferentially. 

"  Come  on,"  said  the  young  savant,  running  down 
the  shore. 

"  Gerard  !  "  cried  Madeline,  starting  up.  "  You  are 
not  going?" 

He  returned  to  her  side  and  reassured  her  with  a 
caress. 

"  There  is  no  danger,  my  darling !  "  he  said,  "  none 
at  all.  You  know  that  the  boat  is  perfectly  safe." 

"  He  murmured  a  few  words  in  her  ear.  She  looked 
from  Blanche  to  Guy,  then  turned  very  pale,  and  said 
no  more. 

" How  many  men? "  asked  Guy. 

"  Twelve." 

"  Where  are  they  ?  " 

"  Here  are  ten  of  us,  one  is  sick,  and  the  other  went 
to  Manigamp  last  evening." 


164  THE     EQUINOCTIAL     STORM. 

"  You  must  have  more  than  ten." 

"  Oh !  we  can  go  with  that  number ;  still,  if  we 
could  have  two  or.  three  more  strong  men,  it  would  be 
better.  The  poor  devils  are  in  a  pitiable  state." 

Impelled  by  twenty  vigorous  arms,  the  life-boat  was 
drawn  down  to  the  edge  of  the  sand.  The  ten  men 
took  their  seats. 

"Who  will  come?"  cried  the  pilot,  looking  round. 

No  one  answered.  The  village  people  felt  that  it 
was  not  their  duty,  they  were  not  sailors, 

Gerard  climbed  into  the  boat,  which  rocked  on  the 
•waves. 

"  Guy,  are  you  coming?"  he  shouted. 

De  Dreux  hesitated. 

"  Go,"  said  Blanche,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Do  you  think  it  is  necessary  ?  "  he  answered,  with 
some  temper.  "I  shall  get  wet,  take  cold,  and  possibly 
have  inflamation  of  the  lungs." 

"And  these  men  will  possibly  die,"  answered 
Blanche. 

"  Come  now,  Blanche,  you  are  not  reasonable.  You 
ask  absurdities.  Of  course  it  is  not  the  danger  I  mind, 
but  I  do  object  to  a  cold." 

"  Go,"  she  repeated,  in  a  tone  that  he  felt  to  be 
unanswerable.  "  Gerard  is  going,  and  yet  you,  the 
Deputy,  refuse  !  They  will  despise  you  !  " 

Guy  made  one  leap  into  the  boat,  which  impelled  by 
the  oars  bounded  through  the  waves.  When  about 
fifty  yards  from  the  shore,  Gerard  rose  and  waved  his 
hat.  At  the  same  moment,  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  came 


THE    EQUINOCTIAL    STORM.  165 

down  the  shore  mounted  on  his  large  horse.  He  rode 
at  full  gallop. 

"  Too  late ! "  he  cried,  as  he  stopped  near  Blanche. 
"  They  have  gone  without  me  !  " 

Blanche  turned  and  looked  at  him.  Admiration, 
gratitude,  regret — shame,  perhaps — were  all  to  be  read 
in  her  eyes.  The  Statesman  received  this  look  like  a 
blessing,  and  never  forgot  it. 

Madeline  approached  her  friend. 

"  Is  there  any  danger  for  them,  tell  me  ?  "  she  said, 
with  anguish. 

"  No,  my  love ;  no  danger  at  all." 

The  young  wife  drew  a  long  breath,  as  she  tried  to 
recognize  Gerard  among  the  black  points  in  the  boat, 
now  half  hidden  in  the  waves. 

Mullan  had  seated  the  Comtesse  on  a  rock.  She 
grasped  it  so  tightly  with  her  frail  fingers  that  it  hurt 
them,  but  she  did  not  seem  to  know  it. 

"  Ah  !  if  I  could  but  swim  !  "  he  murmured.  "  But 
I  never  learned." 

"  Ah  !  my  friend,"  said  the  old  lady,  "pray  stay  with 
us.  We  need  one  of  you  men,  in  case  we  should 
chance  to  faint.:' 

She  pretended  to  jest,  but  her  lips  were  pale  and 
trembling. 

The  ship  was  now  coming  slowly  but  surely,  close 
to  the  rocks.  Finally  an  enormous  wave  lifted  it  and 
threw  it  among  the  granite  points.  A  terrible  crunch- 
ing sound  was  heard  above  the  noise  made  by  the 
tempest,  which  went  to  the  hearts  of  the  spectators, 


166  THE     EQUINOCTIAL     STORM. 

and  the  brig  remained  wedged  in  between  two 
points. 

The  life-boat  now  made  its  way  round  the  rock,  not- 
withstanding the  enormous  waves  which  shook  the 
brig  and  rose  in  masses  above  it.  Communication  was 
established,  and  one  by  one  the  shipwrecked  sailors 
passed  from  the  brig  to  the  boat. 

The  last,  who  was  the  captain,  turned,  as  he  left  the 
ship,  toward  the  flag  which  he  had  not  taken  down. 
A  sudden  lurch  and  he  was  thrown  into  the  water. 
Gerard  leaned  over  the  edge  of  the  boat  to  assist  him. 
As  he  did  so,  the  boat  was  thrown  violently  against 
the  sides  of  the  brig;  the  captain  disappeared. 
Instantly  De  Dreux  turned  and  saw  that  Gerard  was 
strangely  still.  He  shook  his  arm,  and  to  the  inex- 
pressible horror  of  the  young  Deputy,  saw  that 
Gerard  was  unconscious.  A  wound  on  the  temple 
was — mortal. 

The  boat  re-entered  the  harbor  in  utter  silence.  The 
shipwrecked  mariners  did  not  even  express  their  grati- 
tude. Guy,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  his  friend,  asked 
himself  what  he  should  say  to  Madeline.  They 
touched  the  shore,  and  to  the  questions  and  welcomes 
with  which  they  were  greeted,  Guy  could  only  say : 

"  An  accident  has  taken  place.  We  want  a  physi- 
cian." 

Some  one  went  without  a  word.  It  was  Monsieur 
de  Fresnes. 

Madeline  stood  motionless,  watching  the  boat,  in 
which  her  trembling  eyes  failed  to  see  her  husband. 


THE     EQUINOCTIAL     STORM.  167 

He  was  now  lifted  on  to  the  beach.  Blanche  rushed 
forward  to  place  herself  between  Madeline  and  the 
dead  body  of  her  husband;  but  the  bereaved  wife 
gently  pushed  her  aside,  and  knelt  at  the  side  of  him 
who  only  a  few  moments  before  had  been  to  her  the 
very  essence  of  life,  and  who  was  now  nothing. 

"•  I  knew  that  it  would  be  so,"  she  said,  in  a  low 
voice.  "  When  he  bade  me  adieu — I  was  sure  of  it." 

The  funeral  procession  slowly  took  their  way  to  the 
chateau,  where  the  shipwrecked  sailors  were  to  find 
shelter. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  came  back  in  two  hours  with  a 
physician,  but  there  was  nothing  to  be  done.  Madeline 
was  seated  at  the  side  of  Gerard's  dead  body,  and 
until  the  hour  of  the  interment  proffered  neither  a 
question  nor  a  complaint. 

When  the  young  savant  had  received  the  last  honors 
and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Mesnil,  Blanche, 
who  dreaded  a  terrible  explosion  of  grief,  went  to  her 
friend  who  was  now  more  than  ever  dear  to  her. 

"What  do  you  wish  to  do?"  she  asked.  "Let  me 
serve  you.  I  have  no  other  wish  than  yours." 

"  Let  me  live  here,"  said  Madeline,  with  a  sob,  the 
first  that  had  been  heard  from  her  lips  since  that  terri- 
ble moment  which  had  made  her  a  widow.  "  I  can  not 
go  anywhere  else.  I  would  like  to  linger  here  with 
him.  I  love  him  so  dearly  !  " 

"  Madeline,  you  shall  do  as  you  will.  But  is  it 
wise  ?  " 

Her  friend  shook  her  head. 


168  THE   EQUINOCTIAL   STORM. 

"I  love  him,"  she  answered.  "He  is  not  entirely 
lost  to  me  when  I  am  here.  Ah  !  if  you  did  but  know 
how  I  loved  him  !  " 

Blanche  shuddered.  It  was  Guy  who  should  have 
been  in  Gerard's  place.  Guy,  the  faithless,  selfish 
husband — the  man  who  was  incapable  of  lofty  emo- 
tions, or  of  absurd  self-renunciation.  She  shrank 
from  this  thought,  which  was  full  of  the  bitterest  pain 
to  her.  Her  love  for  her  husband  was  dead — more 
dead  even  than  Gerard,  who  was  now  sleeping  under 
the  autumnal  flowers. 

She  wept  for  herself  and  envied  Madeline. 


LIFE    AT    THE    CHATEAU.  169 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LIFE     AT     THE     CHATEAU. 

ONE  peculiarity  of  great  catastrophes  is  that  they 
bring  closer  together  human  beings  who,  in 
accordance  with  the  ordinary  laws  of  the  world,  would 
have  always  remained  at  a  respectful  distance  from 
each  other. 

The  death  of  Gerard  Lecomte  had  drawn  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  chateau  around  the  young  widow, 
and  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  carried  away  by  a  sponta- 
neous movement,  in  which  selfishness  had  no  share, 
had  hurried  to  bring  to  her  not  only  consolations,  but 
all  that  the  most  delicate  pity  could  suggest  in  the 
way  of  discreet  attentions. 

These  marks  of  compassion  were  not  intended  to 
attract  the  attention  of  Madame  de  Dreux ;  as  a  rule, 
she  was  not  aware  of  them,  but  the  respectful  reserve 
of  the  minister  went  directly  to  her  heart.  In  the 
isolation  of  life  at  the  chateau,  the  strict  laws  of 
widowhood  could  not  be  rigorously  observed ;  Made- 
line, after  the  first  week,  spent  the  greater  part  of  her 
time  with  Blanche,  reappeared  at  the  table,  and  even 
spent  a  portion  of  the  evenings  among  her  friends. 
This  sacrifice  was  rewarded  by  the  most  eager  and 
affectionate  sympathy. 

Lucien  de  Fresnes  came  in  for  an  hour  frequently ; 


170  LIFE     AT    THE     CHATEAU. 

Blanche  could  no  longer  be  cold  toward  him,  for 
between  the  inmates  of  the  chateau  and  himself  now 
existed  a  bond  of  sympathy  which  authorized  great 
intimacy.  But  it  was  not  to  Madame  de  Dreux  that 
Lucien  devoted  himself;  it  was  to  the  young  widow. 
Madeline  liked  to  hear  him  talk  of  Gerard,  who,  in 
these  last  few  weeks,  had  been  the  constant  companion 
of  Monsieur  de  Fresnes ;  they  found  in  this  a  perpetual 
subject  of  conversation,  while  Blanche  sat  a  little  apart 
under  the  lamp;  Mullan  played  cards  with  Madame 
Praxis,  and  Guy,  hidden  behind  a  newspaper,  fell 
asleep  lulled  by  the  low  murmur  of  voices. 

Blanche  was  often  deeply  touched  by  this  conversa- 
tion, in  which  she  took  no  part.  When  De  Fresnes 
addressed  her,  as  he  did  occasionally,  it  disturbed  her 
tranquillity  and  awakened  her  from  her  dreams,  and 
although  her  restless  conscience  could  find  no  ground 
for  self-reproach,  yet  Blanche  felt  that  she  was  not 
doing  wisely.  But  when  he  spoke  of  Gerard  to  Made- 
line, she  could  listen  without  scruples,  and  also  with- 
out scruple  admire  this  frank,  honest  and  sympathetic 
nature,  and  this  heart  as  open  to  pity  as  if  it  had 
been  that  of  a  woman. 

When  at  the  moment  of  departure  Lucien  rose, 
when  she  was  compelled  to  give  him  her  hand  and  to 
look  him  in  the  face,  the  same  vague  uneasiness  took 
possession  of  her.  And  yet  Lucien's  eyes  expressed 
no  feeling  which  could  disturb  her.  She  did  her  best 
to  show  no  consciousness  of  her  own  trouble,  and  to 
meet  his  gaze  with  eyes  equally  frank.  She  was 


LIFE     AT    THE     CHATEAU.  171 

ashamed  of  herself,  ashamed  that  she  had  attributed 
to  this  loyal  man  thoughts  which,  in  all  probability, 
had  never  occurred  to  him,  and  after  reading  herself 
severe  lessons,  she  was  able  one  day  to  raise  her  eyes 
to  his. 

What  was  her  startled  astonishment  to  detect  for 
the  first  time,  in  the  expression  of  her  friend,  a  tender- 
ness which  re-awakened  all  her  fears — respectful  as 
was  this  tenderness,  it  was  too  much. 

Madame  de  Dreux  then  said  to  herself,  that  the 
season  was  advancing,  and  that  his  departure  from 
Mesnil  had  now  become  a  question  of  days.  One 
week,  then  six  days,  and  finally,  only  two  remained 
until  the  date  fixed  for  the  return  of  Monsieur  de 
Dreux  to  Paris. 

At  the  thought  that  their  daily  intercourse  was 
coming  to  a  close,  she  felt  quite  proud  of  herself  that 
it  did  not  cause  her  anjr  sorrow.  But  when  he  was 
gone,  Mesnil  seemed  to  her  a  desert,  and  more  lonely 
and  depressing  even  than  on  the  day  of  the  death  of 
Gerard  Lecomte. 

The  guests  at  Mesnil  decided  to  leave  it  at  once. 
Guy  did  not  like  to  hunt  alone,  and  Mullan  was  too 
dangerous  a  companion,  by  reason  of  his  nearsighted- 
ness,  for  Guy  to  go  out  with  him,  as  there  had  once 
been  an  accident  which  had  peppered  the  legs  of  a 
gamekeeper  with  duck  shot,  Mullan  having  unfortu- 
nately taken  the  gamekeeper  for  a  hare  in  the  under- 
brush. 

Blanche    finally   induced    Madeline    to    leave    the 


172  LIFE    AT    THE     CHATEAU. 

chateau,  in  order  to  spend  some  time  with  her  own 
family.  Therefore,  one  fine  day,  every  one  took  flight 
at  once,  like  the  birds  in  the  autumn,  and  Mesnil  was 
left  in  gray  solitude,  with  the  sea  waves  breaking  up 
almost  at  the  foot  of  Gerard's  tomb. 

The  hurry  and  confusion  attendant  upon  the  break- 
ing up  at  Mesnil  and  her  installation  in  Paris,  occupied 
Blanche  for  several  days.  On  reaching  her  house  she 
had  found  De  Fresnes's  card.  He  left  one  or  two 
more,  but  it  so  happened  that  on  the  days  he  called 
she  had,  in  the  morning,  given  the  order  that  no  one 
should  be  admitted.  She  felt  a  pang  of  regret  that  he 
should  have  been  so  near  her,  and  yet  she  had  missed 
seeing  him. 

Without  stopping  to  examine  her  motives,  she  gave 
orders  for  a  whole  week  that  every  one  should  be 
let  in  who  called.  She  saw,  consequently,  a  vast 
number  of  indifferent  faces,  but  Lucien  de  Fresnes 
did  not  come  back. 

A  great  impatience  then  took  possession  of  her. 
This  Parisian  life  once  more  became  to  her,  as  it  had 
been  before,  a  desert  peopled  with  indifferent  faces. 
The  Conitesse  de  Praxis  lived  at  the  other  end  of  the 
town.  Mullan  came  every  day,  but  Mullan,  since  his 
return  to  town,  had  many  thoughts  which  he  wished 
to  conceal.  Blanche  realized  this,  and  yet  knew  she 
had  no  right  to  ask  an  explanation.  She  felt  weighed 
down  by  a  feeling  of  discouragement. 

"  What  will  become  of  me  ?  "  she  said.  "  We  were 
all  so  happy  at  Mesnil !  I  shall  never  become  accus- 


LIFE     AT    THE     CHATEAU.  173 

tomed  to  seeing  so  many  people  who  are  nothing  to 
me!" 

She  devoted  herself  to  her  children.  Edward 
needed  a  tutor,  which,  of  course,  was  a  matter  of 
much  importance ;  then  came  the  winter  toilette  of 
the  two  children — this  absorbed  an  entire  week,  after 
which  the  young  mother  found  that  she  was  again 
alone  with  her  thoughts,  and  this  terrible  ennui,  which 
made  her  dread  both  solitude  and  the  world. 

One  day,  just  as  she  returned  from  a  drive  with  her 
children,  she  perceived  on  the  doorsteps  a  well-known 
form.  The  visitor  was  just  handing  to  the  footman  his 
card,  after  writing  a  few  words  on  it  in  pencil. 

Blanche  was  in  such  haste  that  she  opened  the 
door  of  the  carriage  herself  without  waiting  for  the 
servant. 

"Monsieur  de  Fresnes !  "  she  said,  as  she  hurried  up 
the  steps. 

He  turned  quickl}-,  and  stood  before  her  with  his 
hat  in  his  hand.  She,  all  out  of  breath,  looked  at  him 
with  a  smile.  The  babies  were  behind,  led  by  their 
English  nurse,  and  they,  too,  eagerly  greeted  their 
Mesnil  friend. 

"  Come  in,"  she  said,  recalled  to  reality  by  the  paw- 
ing of  the  horses  on  the  pavement.  "  It  is  a  century 
since  I  saw  you." 

She  threw  back  her  wraps,  and  moved  very  rapidly, 
with  an  elasticity  long  since  forgotten.  Her  color  was 
heightened  by  emotion,  and  with  her  hair  slightly 
blown  in  the  wind,  she  looked  almost  like  a  girl  again. 


174  LIFE    AT    THE    CHATEAU. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  followed  her  into  the  great 
salon,  where  two  lamps  were  lighted.  She  dropped 
into  a  low  chair  by  the  fire,  motioning  him  to  a  seat 
opposite,  and  then  said  again,  almost  without  taking 
breath : 

"  How  long  it  is  since  I  saw  you ! " 

"  It  has  not  been  my  fault,"  he  answered.  "  I  have 
been  here  three  times.  But  you  always  deny  your- 
self." 

"  No,"  she  said,  "  my  doors  were  open  for  a  week, 
and  you  did  not  come." 

"  If  I  had  only  known — " 

She  laughed  as  she  said : 

"But  you  could  hardly  expect  me  to  send  you 
word." 

Their  eyes  met.  Those  of  Blanche  expressed  a 
childish  joy. 

"  It  is  Fate,"  she  said,  gayly. 

Everything  looked  bright  to  her  in  that  brief  hour. 

They  both  began  to  laugh;  the  very  atmosphere 
about  them  seemed  full  of  youth  and  happiness.  The 
dark  furniture  and  heavy  curtains,  with  straight,  rigid 
folds,  did  not  disturb  them.  They  were  like  two 
children  let  loose  from  school. 

Lucien  rose  from  his  seat  after  about  ten  minutes. 

"  I  trust,"  she  said,  "  that  it  will  not  be  another 
twenty  years  before  you  come  to  see  us  again?" 

"  Is  it  only  twenty  years  since  I  saw  you  ? "  he 
answered,  gayly.  "  It  seems  at  least  forty  to  me  !  " 

She  smiled,  and  he  looked  at  her  earnestly. 


LIFE     AT    THE     CHATEAU.  175 

"The  air  of  Paris  suits  you,"  he  said;  "you  look 
younger,  brighter,  than  at  Mesnil — you  are  gay " 

"  Not  every  day,"  she  said,  and  then,  coloring  at  her 
imprudence,  she  dropped  her  eyes. 

He  had  never  seen  her  half  as  pretty.  Suddenly  he 
started,  assailed  by  a  new  fear.  Was  it  possible  that 
this  inaccessible  woman  had  become  interested  in  some 
one?  Was  it  the  joy  of  seeing  some  person  from 
whom  she  had  been  separated  all  summer  that  gave 
her  this  exuberant  vitality  ?  The  young  man's  heart 
contracted  at  this  thought;  was  the  brilliancy  of  this 
fair  star  to  be  marred  ? 

"  Have  you  a  day  this  winter  ?  "  he  asked,  with  a 
vague  intention  of  seeing  with  his  own  eyes  those 
persons  who  were  intimate  at  her  house. 

"I  begin  next  week — Tuesdays." 

"I  shall  have  the  honor,"  he  began. 

"  No,  no  !  "  she  said,  quickly,  "  they  are  not  for  you. 
Come  at  six  o'clock.  I  am  always  to  be  seen  at  that 
hour." 

Lucien  was  thrilled  with  joy.  In  this  rashness  he 
read  so  many  promises.  A  coxcomb  would  have  been 
guilty  of  some  impertinence. 

But  there  was  no  danger  of  anything  of  the  kind 
with  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  who  saw  beside  that  Blanche 
had  intended  no  coquetry,  and  he  had  no  wish  to 
degrade  his  idol. 

He  was  silent  for  a  moment:  Blanche  held  her 
breath  in  dread  of  what  he  was  going  to  say,  and  then 
suddenly  began  to  tell  him  some  social  anecdote,  an 


176  LIFE     AT    THE     CHATEAU. 

anecdote  which  was  intended  to  be  very  amusing,  but 
she  told  it  in  a  way  that  rendered  it  positively  dismal ; 
her  voice  trembled ;  she  could  hardly  restrain  her 
tears  ^  she  knew  that  she  was  nervous,  foolish,  perhaps 
ridiculous.  She  stopped  short. 

"  Upon  my  word  !  "  she  said,  "  I  do  not  know  why  I 
tell  you  all  this  gossip — you  do  not  like  it  any  better 
than  I  do — but  I  suppose  in  the  world  in.  which  we 
live,  it  does  not  do  to  be  singular! " 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  was  touched  by  the  tone  in 
which  she  said  this  and  by  the  tears  in  her  eyes.  He 
was  ashamed  of  his  own  suspicions,  and  of  the  momen- 
tary jealousy  he  had  felt  x>f  a  mere  chimera.  A 
precious  half  hour  at  six  o'clock  he  was  certain  now 
would  be  exclusively  his  own. 

"I  shall  come  often,  Madame,  if  you  will  permit 
me,"  he  said  deferentially.  I  am  not  master  of  my 
own  time  here,  as  I  was  at  Mesnil,  but  when  I  do  not 
come,  be  certain  that  it  is  not  my  fault." 

"You  are  not  coming  every  day?"  stammered 
Blanche,  in  her  terror. 

He  understood  her,  and  answered  half  sadly : 

"  I  shall  not  take  advantage  of  your  permission," 
he  said,  "  but  it  is  hardly  possible  that  I  can  escape 
from  business,  as  often  as  I  would  like." 

Mullan  entered  without  being  announced  at  this 
moment.  When  he  saw  De  Fresnes,  his  face  percep- 
tibly clouded.  The  two  men  exchanged  a  few  civil 
words.  When  De  Fresnes  departed,  Mullan,  who  was 
to  dine  that  day  at  the  Hotel,  took  a  chair,  but  it  was 


LIFE     AT    THE     CHATEAU.  177 

not  that  which  the  Minister  had  occupied.  He  fol- 
lowed the  direction  of  the  eyes  of  his  hostess,  which 
were  fixed  on  the  arm-chair  opposite. 

"Dear  Madame,"  he  said,  gently,  "you  are  in  a 
land  of  dreams." 

She  started,  but  her  gayety  had  by  this  time  re- 
turned. She  answered  with  her  pretty  little  laugh: 

"  It  is  a  charming  place,  and  one  meets  very  agree- 
able people  there.  I  often  see  you  in  that  land." 

Mullan  was  struck  by  her  manner;  if  she  were 
always  as  charming  as  this,  there  was  not  a  heart  in 
Paris  that  could  resist  her ! 

He  said  as  much  to  her,  and  she  menaced  him  with 
her  finger.  Guy  came  in  at  this  moment. 

"  Mullan  is  making  love  to  me,"  she  said,  to  her 
husband.  "  I  am  glad  you  have  come  to  keep  him 
in  order." 

"  Ah !  "  answered  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  "  I  really 
don't  see  how  he  can  help  it ! " 

"  Is  this  a  husband's  protection  ? "  cried  Blanche, 
still  laughing. 

"  I  am  a  good  watch-dog,"  grumbled  Mullan. 

With  much  laughter,  the  three  friends  passed  into 
the  dining-room. 
11 


178  STOPPING    TO    BREATHE. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

STOPPING     TO     BKEATHE. 

IT  sometimes  seems  as  if  Fate  grew  tired  of  hurry- 
ing us  towards  the  end  of  all  things,  and  allowed 
us  a  few  moments  of  a  repose  in  which  we  could  at 
least  realize  the  meaning  of  the  words,  Joy  and  Peace. 
Then  the  smallest  circumstances  bring  their  tribute  of 
contentment,  our  friends  seem  to  love  us  more  than 
ever,  our  intellect  seems  quicker,  our  hearts  more 
tender. 

One  of  these  halcyon  periods  now  fell  to  the  lot  of 
Madame  de  Dreux.  The  very  weather  seemed  deter- 
mined to  do  its  share  toward  brightening  this  season 
of  her  life. 

Lovely  weather,  almost  like  spring,  gave  a  few  days' 
grace  to  the  Bengal  roses  on  the  south  wall  of  the 
Hotel,  and  Blanche,  with  her  children,  basked  in  the 
fleeting  warmth  of  these  few  days  stolen  from  winter, 
almost  as  if  they  were  again  on  the  terrace  at  Mesnil, 
and  there  thought  over  the  strange  summer  just 
passed  away,  the  sweetness  of  which  now  returned 
to  her  with  the  odor  of  these  dying  leaves  heated  in 
the  sun,  that  rose  from  her  garden,  and  intoxicated 
her  without  her  knowing  it. 

The  soul  of  this  woman  was  endowed  with  wings ; 
but  the  disenchantments  of  life  had  caused  her  to  fold 


STOPPING    TO    BREATHE.  179 

them  very  closely.  Now  she  once  more  felt  that  she 
could  open  them  and  wing  her  flights  toward  all  she 
had  once  loved,  and  which  her  many  cares  and  disap- 
pointments had  caused  her  to  neglect.  She  read  in 
fifteen  days  ten  volumes  of  poetry — for  verses  were 
then  in  fashion — and  found  some  exquisite  pages 
which  brought  her  both  smiles  and  tears. 

She  went  to  the  Italians,  took  a  box  at  the  Opera, 
enjoyed  music  to  her  heart's  content,  and  discovered 
new  beauties  in  works  which  she  knew  by  heart.  She 
bought  three  fine  pictures,  filled  a  portfolio  with 
engravings,  discovered  a  pastel  of  Latours  and  carried 
it  off  from  a  crowd  of  amateurs,  paying  an  enormous 
price  for  it,  and  spent  three  days  wrapped  in  admira- 
tion of  her  purchase,  except  when  she  was  painting 
herself. 

Her  children  were  charming,  her  friends  were  de- 
lighted to  see  her,  all  the  men  of  her  circle  admired 
her,  for  never  in  her  life  had  she  been  so  charming  and 
so  lovely.  And  to  crown  all  her  enjoyment,  Monsieur 
de  Dreux  requiring  her  pardon  for  a  new  peccadillo, 
was  more  at  home  and  extremely  attentive. 

Everybody,  in  short,  was  delightful,  except  Mullan, 
who  was  very  gloomy. 

He  felt  that  this  fete  to  which  Blanche  now  surren- 
dered herself,  was  not  given  in  his  honor,  although  she 
had  never  treated  him  with  so  much  coquetry  as  at 
this  time.  He  saw  that  she  was  strangely  happy  and 
that  she  was  eager  to  make  every  one  about  her  happy, 
and  he,  her  watch-dog,  felt  very  bitter  against  him  who 


180  STOPPING    TO    BREATHE. 

had  now  taken  possession  of  the  heart  of  this  woman 
whom  he  had  himself  so  long  loved. 

"What  is  it  to  me,  though?"  he  grumbled.  "Guy 
will  deserve  what  he  gets,  which  is  not  always  the  case 
in  such  matters  !  " 

But  this  philosophy  did  not  content  him.  It  was 
not  for  Guy's  sake  nor  his  own  that  he  mounted  guard, 
it  was  for  her. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  came  two  or  three  times ;  he 
had  not  found  Madame  de  Dreux  alone  on  either  visit. 
Guy  made  it  his  duty  to  spend  a  half  hour  before 
dinner  with  his  wife.  This  was  the  occasion  on  which 
he  drank  in  his  political  inspiration,  and  from  the  low 
chair  in  front  of  the  fire  in  the  small  salon,  he  carried 
away  many  singular  opinions  which  only  an  hour 
before  he  would  have  been  amazed  to  think  of.  For- 
tunately for  his  brain,  which  could  not  bear  an  undue 
amount  of  labor,  he  never  troubled  himself  to  think,  and 
found  great  comfort  in  having  his  opinions  ready  made, 
to  produce  when  occasion  required.  Monsieur  de 
Dreux  was  so  unconscious  of  all  this  that  he  would 
have  continued  this  pursuit  of  knowledge  in  the 
presence  of  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  if  Blanche  had  not 
brought  him  to  his  senses. 

Somewhat  surprised  at  seeing  a  conversation,  which 
he  found  especially  interesting,  so  suddenly  inter- 
rupted, he  endeavored  several  times  to  carry  it  back 
again  into  the  same  path.  Not  being  able  to  succeed 
in  this  effort,  he  grumbled  in  his  innermost  heart  at 
the  shallowness  of  this  feminine  mind  which  he  con- 


STOPPING  TO  BREATHE.   .       181 

sidered  too  frivolous  to  fix  itself  long  on  anything, 
and  finally  resigned  himself  to  wait  ere  he  fully  de- 
veloped his  ideas  on  the  events  of  the  day,  for  he 
honestly  believed  that  it  was  he  who  was  instructing 
his  wife. 

The  second  time  that  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  called, 
it  was  he  who  broached  the  subject  of  politics.  He 
spoke  so  much  and  so  well  that  Blanche  trembled  lest 
her  secret  was  discovered.  But  the  air  of  the  states- 
man was  far  from  being  dogmatic,  and  he  spoke  so 
lightly  of  important  matters  that  she  was  soon 
reassured. 

"  These  are  just  my  ideas !  "  Guy  exclaimed,  as  the 
Minister  concluded. 

Madame  de  Dreux  began  to  stir  the  fire  gently;  this 
was  a  great  resource  on  desperate  occasions.  One 
log  rolled  down.  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  took  the  tongs 
from  the  hands  of  his  hostess,  and  stooped  to  the 
hearth.  Guy  hastened  to  prevent  him,  and  all  three 
were  at  the  same  moment  within  the  chimney. 

Blanche  drew  back  with  a  nervous  laugh.  She  felt 
a  strange  sense  of  discomfort  at  being  so  near  these 
two  men,  although  one  was  her  husband. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  took  his  leave  a  few  minutes 
later,  and  she  did  not  bid  him  adieu  with  her  usual 
gayety. 

"  He  is  a  wonderfully  clever  man,"  said  Monsieur 
de  Dreux,  when  the  door  closed.  "I  am  glad  to 
have  him  for  a  friend.  I  thank  you  every  day  of  my 
life,  Blanche,  for  having  conquered  your  first  repug- 


182         STOPPING  TO  BREATHE. 

nance,  and  for  admitting  him  to  an  intimacy  which  is, 
as  you  will  agree,  as  flattering  as  it  is  useful." 

"  Yes ;  but  we  will  not  talk  about  it,"  answered  his 
wife,  with  a  weary  look. 

This  was  the  last  day  left  to  Blanche  of  the  deli- 
cious ecstasy  in  which  she  had  lived  for  three  weeks. 
The  next  morning  a  sharp  north  wind  was  blowing 
through  the  garden,  driving  the  dead  leaves  before 
it,  and  her  awakened  conscience  murmured  reproaches 
which,  although  vague,  were  yet  keen  enough  to 
cut  deeply. 

Such  awakenings  are  cruel  enough  after  such 
serenity ;  and  Blanche,  accustomed  as  she  was  to  pain- 
ful emotions,  felt  this  with  peculiar  bitterness.  She 
no  longer  laughed,  and  Guy  complained  to  Mullan  of 
having  a  wife  who  was  so  capricious,  and  who  had  not 
the  smallest  stability  of  character. 

One  day  in  the  following  week,  about  six  o'clock, 
when  Guy  was  detained  at  the  Chambers  by  an 
unusually  long  session,  the  door  of  the  salon  opened, 
and  Lucien  entered  without  being  announced.  On 
seeing  him,  Blanche  could  not  repress  a  start,  which 
was  as  indicative  of  fright  as  of  any  other  emotion. 

"I  saw  no  one  in  the  ante-room,"  he  said,  in 
apology ;  "  shall  I  retire  ?  " 

"  By  no  means,"  answered  Blanche,  making  a  great 
effort.  "  My  husband  .will  be  here  presently,  I  trust." 

"Don't  think  of  that,"  said  Monsieur  de  Fresues, 
smiling.  "  I  left  him  listening  to  an  interminable 
speech ;  all  those  who  did  not  go  out  before  the  begin- 


STOPPING    TO    BREATHE.  183 

ning,  and  who  have  had  the  weakness  to  listen,  will 
not  get  their  dinners  until  seven  o'clock." 

Instinctively,  Blanche  looked  at  her  watch,  which 
told  her  that  it  wanted  five  minutes  of  six. 

"  We  shall  have  time  for  a  little  conversation,"  he 
said.  "Oh!  what  a  life  this  is;  we  can  never  see 
those  whom  we  wish  to  see,  we  never  do  what  we  wish 
to  do,  we  talk  politics,  we  dine,  and  we  are  bored  until 
suddenly,  some  fine  day,  we  discover  that  we  are  old — 
that  we  shall  soon  die  without  ever  having  had  time  to 
be  happy." 

Blanche  looked  earnestly  at  this  friend,  who  had 
become  so  dear  to  her.  He  looked  worn  and  weary. 
She  felt  an  imperious  desire  to  console  him.  She 
would  bear  her  own  consequent  sufferings  later,  but 
she  would  not  allow  him  to  leave  without  having 
cheered  him  by  some  kind  words.  She  rang,  and 
ordered  dinner  to  be  kept  back,  and  when  the  servant 
had  left  the  room  she  turned  to  her  guest,  with  a 
tender  smile  on  her  lips  and  in  her  eyes. 

"  It  is  true,"  he  said,  in  reply  to  this  smile.  "  I  am 
sad — I  have  enemies." 

"  You ! "  cried  Blanche,  in  a  tone  of  such  profound 
amazement  that  Lucien  began  to  laugh. 

"  Does  that  strike  you  as  so  extraordinary  ?  Ah ! 
dear  Madame,  when  a  man  marks  out  a  line  of  con- 
duct and  adheres  to  it  strictly,  he  always  has  enemies. 
Those  who  have  not  been  able  to  change  your  path, 
will  never  forgive  you  the  uselessness  of  their  efforts." 

"And  then  the  good  that  you  have  done  them  is 
always  turned  against  you,"  Blanche  said. 


184  STOPPING    TO    BREATHE. 

"  Precisely,  and  add  to  these  the  simpletons  who 
have  asked  for  impossible  things — the  ambitious  who 
have  been  disappointed,  and  those  who  think  they  have 
a  right  to  your  place — and  even  the  most  inoffensive 
will  find  that  he  has  a  comfortable  amount  of  enemies, 
not  one  of  whom  he  knows,  and  yet  in  all  probability 
he  has  done  them  all  a  service." 

Blanche  did  not  reply.  Up  to  this  time  she  had 
never  asked  herself  what  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  thought 
of  existence.  She  saw  him  handsome,  rich,  intelligent 
and  powerful ;  she,  therefore,  supposed  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  he  must  be  happy.  The  faint  tinge  of 
bitterness  in  his  present  words  inspired  Blanche  with 
a  tender  deference  for  this  great  heart  suffering  from 
some  hidden  wound.  Her  lips  did  not  speak,  but  her 
eyes  did,  for  he  bowed  deeply  before  her,  and  said  in  a 
low  voice,  "  Thanks." 

She  threw  herself  back  in  her  chair,  with  a  light 
shiver  of  apprehension.  Lucien  saw  this  fleeting 
expression  upon  this  face,  which  he  knew  so  well. 
He  drew  back  a  little,  and  began  to  talk  of  other 
things. 

Blanche  soon  recovered  herself;  she  was  ashamed 
of  her  emotion,  but  she  was  still  a  little  troubled  and 
feigned  a  gayety  she  was  far  from  feeling.  It  was  no 
longer  the  spontaneous  gayety  which  had  rendered  her 
so  brilliant  a  few  days  before.  De  Fresnes  saw  this  at 
once,  and  in  his  turn  became  very  sad.  He  reproached 
himself  for  having  disturbed  the  peace  of  this  woman, 
who,  if  not  happy,  was  at  least  tranquil. 


STOPPING  TO  BREATHE.          185 

He  -would,  perhaps,  have  given  his  life  to  hear 
Blanche  say  that  she  loved  him,  but  he  would  cer- 
tainly have  given  it  to  spare  her  a  remorse  which 
would  poison  her  whole  after-life. 

By  degrees,  a  profound  sadness  assailed  them  both, 
and  their  discourse  showed  it.  Never  is  so  much  phi- 
losophy talked  as  when  there  is  darkness  in  the  soul — 
happy  people  are  content  with  being  happy,  and  do 
not  occupy  themselves  with  causes  and  effects. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  had  promised  himself  great 
pleasure  in  this  interview,  and  yet,  when  he  rose  to 
depart,  his  heart  was  weighed  down  with  a  vague  feel- 
ing that  some  misfortune  was  impending. 

"And  yet,"  said  Blanche,  resuming  the  conversa- 
tion, "you  have  at  least  the  power  of  doing  good. 
What  does  it  matter  what  other  reward  you  have  if 
your  conscience  approves  ?  " 

"  The  power  of  which  you  speak,"  he  said,  with  a 
gentle  smile,  "will  not  long  be  mine.  At  this  very 
moment  they  are  attacking  me  in  the  Chamber,  and 
very  likely  I  am  by  this  time  condemned.  A  fallen 
Minister !  Can  you  think  of  a  greater  nullity  ?  " 

"And  you  have  been  here  quietly  all  this  time," 
cried  Blanche,  forgetting  her  previous  fright. 

"  Yes,  I  came  for  cousolation,"  he  answered,  with  a 
profound  bow. 

She  was  very  quiet.  She  could  not  understand  how 
this  man,  whose  position  was  at  that  moment  being 
attacked,  could  remain  with  her,  instead  of  attempting 
to  defend  himself. 


186         STOPPING  TO  BREATHE. 

"  It  is  not  serious  ?  "  she  said  suddenly. 

"  It  could  not  be  more  so,"  he  answered.  "  You  will 
soon  see  that ! " 

"  Why  do  you  not  at  once  resign  a  position  which 
all  are  endeavoring  to  make  disagreeable  to  you  ?  " 

"  That  course  has  been  suggested  to  me,"  he  said,  at 
last.  "I  have  friends  who  esteem  and  love  me,  and  it 
is  proposed  that  I  shall  go  to  Vienna  as  ambassador." 

Blanche  gasped  for  breath,  and  steadied  herself  by 
the  chimney. 

"  You  will  not  accept  then  ?  "  she  asked,  in  a  voice 
which  sounded  strangely  to  her  own  ears. 

He  made  a  little  negative  motion  with  his  head. 
She  dared  not  ask  the  motives  of  his  refusal,  but  he 
added  presently,  in  a  low  voice  : 

"  I  cannot  leave  Paris." 

A  strange  dimness  blurred  her  vision,  the  salon 
seemed  to  turn  around,  and  she  felt  as  if  she  were 
falling  through  space. 

She  seated  herself,  trembling  from  head  to  foot,  with 
her  eyes  closed.  She  dared  not  look  in  the  face  of 
Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  lest  she  should  read  in  it  some- 
thing which  should  compel  her  to  utter  some  irreme- 
diable word.  She  heard  his  voice,  sweet  and  steady ; 
nothing  betrayed  his  consciousness  of  the  state  ill 
which  Blanche  was  plunged. 

"One  can,  to  be  sure,  Madame,  live  away  from 
Paris ;  at  least  we  thought  so  at  Mesnil." 

His  tone  calmed  his  companion. 

"Mesnil,"  she  said,  "is  far  away !  " 


STOPPING    TO     BRFATHE.  187 

"  But  you  will  soon  have  a  railroad.  Monsieur  de 
Dreux  is  bringing  that  project  to  a  successful  termi- 
nation." 

He  was  not  jesting ;  he  had  never  known  of  Guy's 
error.  Blanche  was  the  only  person  in  the  world  who 
knew  of  her  husband's  lack  of  sense  on  the  point  in 
question.  She  found  strength  now  to  jest  on  the 
arrival  of  the  first  locomotive  at  Mesnil,  where  they 
were  so  entirely  behind  the  age. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  was  still  standing.  He  bowed 
now,  and  took  his  leave. 

"You  will  dine  with  us  one  of  these  days?"  said 
Blanche,  without  looking  at  him. 

"Hasten  and  ask  me  then,"  he  answered,  "for  when 
I  am  dethroned  I  shall  be  too  dangerous  a  guest,  and 
may  compromise  my  friends." 

"  The  day  after  to-morrow,  then  ?  "  said  Blanche. 

"  Very  good.     Thanks." 

He  went  away ;  she  heard  the  sound  of  his  footsteps 
die  away.  The  day  closed  behind  him,  and  she  awoke 
from  her  dream.  Three  minutes  only  had  elapsed 
since  Lucien  had  said  to  her,  "  I  do  not  wish  to  leave 
Paris,"  and  in  these  three  minutes  she  had  lived  a 
century  of  emotions  and  tortures.  She  sat  in  rigid 
silence,  listening  to  the  ticking  of  her  clock.  She 
could  not  think  for  a  time. 

"  What  am  I  to  do  ?  What  am  I  to  do  ?  "  she  mur- 
mured, clasping  her  hands  with  a  despairing  gesture. 

Guy's  voice  was  heard  in  the  ante-room.  He  was 
speaking  in  a  louder  and  more  peremptory  tone  than 


188  STOPPING    TO    BREATHE. 

usual.  Blanche  rose,  and  standing  with  her  eyes  fixed 
on  the  door,  waited.  Her  husband  entered  with  rather 
an  excited  air. 

"  Well  ?  "  she  said. 

"  This  is  a  nice  state  of  things  for  us,"  he  answered, 
in  a  sulky  tone.  "  Before  we  become  intimate  with 
people,  we  ought  to  know " 

"If  they  are  sure  of  remaining  long  in  power?'* 
interrupted  Blanche,  in  an  aggressive  tone. 

He  looked  at  her  in  surprise,  at  his  thought  being  so 
well  understood. 

"  No,  it  is  not  that,"  he  replied,  hesitating,  "  but 
certain  misfortunes  never  happen  to  any  one  but  me." 

"  Indeed !  Tell  me  what  they  are !  "  said  Blanche, 
seating  herself,  after  taking  up  a  screen.  She  thought 
she  was  about  to  hear  something  so  extraordinary  that 
she  needed  some  toy  in  her  hand. 

"  Do  you  know  that  the  Opposition  has  attacked 
de  Fresnes  with  great  violence,  and  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  in  one  week  he  will  be  out  of  office  ?  " 

"  Indeed ! "  said  Blanche,  with  a  tranquil  air. 
"And  what  then?" 

"  What  then  !  Do  you  think  that  is  nothing?  We 
have  been  very  intimate  with  him,  you  know,  all 
summer." 

"  Yes,  we  certainly  have." 

"  Well,  don't  you  see  if  he  is  put  out  that  it  will 
hurt  me?  It  is  really  very  disagreeable." 

Blanche  looked  at  her  husband  with  a  singular 
expression  of  disdain.  He  did  not  notice  it. 


STOPPING  TO  BREATHE.         189 

"  We  are  people  of  progress — the  rest  of  us.  I  am 
a  man  of  progress,  and  of  course  I  can't  abandon  my 
party  in  a  circumstance  so  delicate." 

"  Delicate  is  an  excellent  word,"  remarked  Blanche. 

"  You  can  call  it  what  you  will,"  said  Guy,  angrily. 
"  I  am  in  no  humor  to  be  fastidious  in  my  choice  of 
words.  I  only  know  one  thing,  which  is,  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  for  me  to  see  De  Fresnes  at  this  time, 
without-  embroiling  myself  with  my  party.  There- 
fore I  hope  he  will  have  the  sense  not  to  appear  here." 

"  He  has  just  lett,"  said  Madame  de  Dreux,  placidly. 

When  Lucien  was  not  there  she  was  brave,  and  felt 
herself  capable  of  holding  her  own  against  an  army. 

"  Ah !  "  said  Guy,  quite  stupefied.     "  And " 

"  And  I  invited  him  to  dinner  to-morrow." 

"  Now  was  there  ever  anything  so  unfortunate ! " 
cried  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  striking  his  hand  forcibly  on 
the  table  near  which  he  stood.  "  Then  you  must  find 
some  way  of  cancelling  the  invitation.  You  must 
attend  to  that  at  once." 

Blanche  rose  slowly,  and  went  up  to  her  husband. 

"  I  will  never  do  that,"  she  said  calmly. 

He  looked  at  her  in  some  astonishment.  The  steel 
of  which  his  wife  was  made  was  usually  so  wrapped 
in  silk,  that  although  he  may  have  had  some  vague  sus- 
picion of  her  powers  of  resistance,  it  was  a  mere  light- 
ning flash  of  inspiration  speedily  forgotten. 

"Why?"  answered  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  consider- 
ably disturbed  by  the  firm,  cold  gaze  fixed  by  his  wife 
upon  him. 


190         STOPPING  TO  BREATHE. 

"  Because  it  would  be  " — she  hesitated  for  a  word, 
not  caring  to  use  the  one  which  leaped  to  her  lips — 
"  it  would  be  an  indelicacy." 

She  smiled  bitterly,  as  she  spoke. 

"  You  have  been  proud  and  happy,"  she  continued, 
"in  the  friendship  of  this  man  when  he  was  powerful. 
What  would  be  thought  of  you,  were  you  to  abandon 
him  on  the  eve  of  his  disgrace  ?  " 

"  But  my  duties  toward  my  party,"  began  Guy. 

Blanche  turned  the  screen  in  her  hands  two  or  three 
times,  and  then  threw  it  across  the  room. 

"  Listen  to  me,"  she  said,  in  a  low,  hurried  voice. 
"You  know  that  I  now  rarely  give  you  advice,  but 
to-day  you  must  listen  to  me  and  believe  me. 
Monsieur  de  Fresnes  is  no  ordinary  man.  I  do  not 
know  what  his  enemies  say  of  him  to-day,  but  I  do 
know  the  fiat  of  history — yes,  Guy,  of  history. 
When  we  are  all  dead  and  forgotten,  the  world  will 
know  from  historians  the  nature  of  this  man.  They 
will  know  that  he  loved  his  country  better  than  him- 
self, and  truth  absolute  and  unqualified  better  than  all. 
In  fifty  years  it  will  be  an  honor  to  have  been  the 
friend  of  this  man." 

"In  fifty  years,"  repeated  Guy,  piteously,  "Ah!  my 
dear,  that  is  too  far  off!  " 

Blanche  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"  In  two  years,  then,  at  most ;  those  who  have  to- 
day attacked  him  because  he  is  so  much  wiser  than 
they,  and  is  determined  to  avoid  those  trammels  and 
engagements  from  which  a  Ministerial  party  finds  it  so 


STOPPING  TO  BREATHE.         191 

difficult  to  release  itself — these  very  men,  I  say,  will 
eagerly  implore  him  to  leave  his  retreat — in  all  prob- 
ability, to  repair  their  blunders. 

"  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  is  one  of  those  Ministers  who 
are  called  to  power  every  time  a  party  seems  lost, 
because  his  own  personal  reputation  is  in  itself  a 
guarantee  of  honor  and  security." 

"  Do  you  really  think  so  ?  " 

"  I  know  it.  And  you,  of  course,  realize  that  those 
who  have  had  sense  enough  to  remain  friends  of  Mon- 
sieur de  Fresnes,  even  at  the  price  of  momentary  dis- 
favor, will  be  the  men  who  will  wield  the  power  of 
the  future.  I  say  this  for  your  own  sake,  Guy ; 
you  are  ambitious ;  would  you  not  be  proud  to  remain 
the  friend  of  a  man  to  whom  Posterity  will  give  so 
glorious  a  name  in  the  history  of  his  country  ?  " 

Guy  cared  little  for  History  and  Posterity ;  but  he 
was  fond  of  Ministers,  because,  being  in  their  shadow, 
was  to  obtain  more  easily  favors  for  his  dear  and 
insatiable  electors,  who  looked  on  a  Deputy  as  a  sort 
of  errand-boy  to  be  employed  when  they  needed  his 
services. 

"  Do  as  you  choose,"  said  Blanche,  at  last,  her  cour- 
age and  energy  .suddenly  deserting  her.  "After  all,  I 
care  very  little." 

Guy  reflected  a  moment. 

"This,"  he  said,  in  an  important  tone,  "is,  in  my 
opinion,  the  wisest  course  for  us  to  pursue.  You  have 
invited  Monsieur  de  Fresnes ;  we  shall  have  him  to 
dine  with  us  day  after  to-morrow — but  with  no  other 


192         STOPPING  TO  BREATHE. 

guests  than  the  Comtesse  Praxis  and  Mullan.  In  that 
way  the  interview  will  be  entirely  of  a  private  nature 
and  with  no  official  character." 

"  Good  Heavens  ! "  cried  Blanche,  in  a  tone  of  utter 
disgust.  "  Do  as  you  choose,  I  don't  care !  " 

In  fact,  at  this  moment  she  was  so  utterly  weary  of 
the  contest  that  she  could  not,  had  her  life  depended 
on  it,  say  one  other  word. 


THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET.    193 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET. 

AFTER  dinner,  Guy  took  flight  toward  the  places 
which  that  evening  he  proposed  to  favor  with  his 
presence.  Blanche  announced  her  intention  of  remain- 
ing at  home,  and  retreated  to  her  small  salon  with  a 
pile  of  new  books  and  three  pieces  of  embroidery — 
each  more  interesting  than  the  other. 

She  turned  over  the  leaves  of  her  books,  took  two  or 
three  stitches  on  her  needle-work,  and  then  rang  for  the 
carriage  to  be  brought  round.  The  great  silent  house, 
with  the  sleeping  children  and  her  servants  off  at  such 
a  distance,  seemed  to  her  too  inexpressibly  sad  to  be 
longer  borne. 

The  drive  from  her  Hotel  to  that  of  the  Comtesse 
Praxis,  while  arousing  the  physical  energy  of  Blanche, 
awakened  her  torpid  soul  at  the  same  time.  One 
unfortunate  thought  haunted  her  with  the  regularity 
of  a  pendulum  ;  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  was,  in  her  eyes, 
insulted  by  the  manner  in  which  Guy  proposed  to 
receive  him  the  next  day. 

In  vain  did  Madame  de  Dreux  seek  to  dismiss  this 
idea  ;  she  could  not  drive  it  away,  except  for  a  moment, 
and  then  it  would  return  with  the  persistency  which  is 
common  to  disagreeable  things. 

Blanche  had  given  to  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  such  an 
12 


194    THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET. 

elevated  position  in  her  esteem,  that  the  thought  of 
seeing  her  friend  merely  tolerated  by  Guy,  when  she 
herself  considered  a  visit  from  him  as  the  greatest  pos- 
sible honor,  made  her  feel  bitterly  angry.  She  could 
not  re-make  the  nature  of  her  husband;  she  could  not 
wreak  her  wrath  on  him  ;  on  whom  or  what  then  ? 

On  her  delicate  handkerchief,  perhaps,  which  she 
twisted  and  turned  in  her  fingers  until  it  was  torn  in 
bits. 

She  felt  herself  humiliated — humiliated  for  him, 
this  man  whose  serenity  was  undisturbed  by  all  this 
base  ingratitude.  He,  of  course,  would  never  know  of 
it,  but  it  was  a  little  too  much,  she  thought,  that  a 
man  of  the  second-rate  abilities  of  Monsieur  de  Dreux 
should  have  it  in  his  power  to  take  from  her  the  joy 
dear  to  every  generous  heart,  of  consoling  those  who 
fall  in  the  battles  of  life.  She  felt  that  her  house 
should  now  be  at  his  service,  more  even  than  when  he 
was  victorious ;  that  he  should  be  more  esteemed  and 
beloved  than  when  he  was  triumphant.  Her  anger 
increased  every  moment.  She  entered  the  house  of  her 
friend — almost  ran  up  the  stairs,  and  appeared  in  the 
salon  with  her  head  held  well  back,  a  bright  color  in  her 
cheeks  and  her  eyes  flashing  haughtily.  It  was  almost 
as  if  she  panted  to  find  some  one  to  whom  she  could 
say  what  she  could  not  say  to  her  husband. 

"  You  !  Dear  Invisible  !  "  cried  the  Comtesse,  drop- 
ping her  cards.  "  You  come  to  solace  my  loneliness. 
It  is  very  nice  of  you,  for  it  is  long  since  you  were 
here." 


THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET.     195 

"  Possibly,  because  I  invariably  find  Mullan  estab- 
lished in  your  chimney  corner,"  answered  Madame 
de  Dreux,  with  an  odd  sort  of  glance  at  that  gentle- 
man. 

"  Many  thanks,"  he  said  rising  to  his  feet,  and  bow- 
ing gravely.  "How  ought  I  to  take  these  words? 
evidently  as  a  declaration,  but  of  war  or  of — " 

"  Neither  the  one  or  the  other,"  answered  Blanche, 
seating  herself.  "  It  is  simply  a  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence ! " 

"  You  are  very  naughty  to-night,"  said  Mullan, 
leaning  toward  her.  "  You  have  been  annoyed,  have 
you  not?" 

Madame  de  Dreux  did  not  reply.  She  was,  in  fact, 
a  little  ashamed  of  speaking  as  she  had  done  to  this 
kind  and  devoted  friend  who  had  served  her  so  faith- 
fully. She  smiled,  and  this  smile  effaced  the  memory 
of  her  belligerent  words. 

"  I  came  to  invite  you  both,"  she  said,  "  to  dine  with 
us,  the  day  after  to-morrow,  to  meet  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes." 

"A  protest?'' said  Madame  Praxis,  lifting  her  eye- 
brows until  they  were  nearly  lost  under  her  beautiful 
white  hair. 

"  If  you  choose  to  regard  it  as  such  !  " 

Blanche  uttered  this  brief  sentence  in  the  most 
aggressive  way. 

Mullan  leaned  forward  a  little,  and  looked  at  her 
through  half-closed  lids. 

Madame   de  Dreux   passed   her   torn   handkerchief 


196    THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET. 

over  her  lips.  Mullan  instantly  saw  the  rents  in  the 
linen  cambric. 

"  I  consider  that  very  brave,"  said  Madame  Praxis. 
"  I  respect  Guy  for  that,  though  in  his  place  I  should 
have  done  the  same.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  know  how 
to  defend  one's  friends  when  they  are  attacked — " 

"  Unjustly,  you  mean,"  observed  Mullan. 

"  And  even  justly  !  "  cried  the  Dowager ;  "  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  it  is  when  they  are  justly 
attacked  that  they  stand  all  the  more  in  need  of  being 
upheld." 

"  And  you  who  say  this,"  cried  Mullan,  "  are  always 
abusing  me,  and  saying  that  I  like  paradox." 

Blanche  laughed,  a  nervous  sort  of  laugh,  which 
went  out  like  a  spent  fire-rocket. 

"Admit,  Blanche,  that  your  husband  has  done  well. 
I  shall  tell  him  so,  you  may  be  sure  of  that!  and  I 
shall  wear  my  very  best  gown  to  your  dinner,  my 
dear." 

"  No,"  said  Blanche,  hesitating,  "  do  not  do  that ; 
there  will  be  no  one  but  ourselves  and  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes.  In  spite  of  our  intention  of  making  it  a  sort 
of  protest,  we,  for  many  reasons,  consider  this  best." 

The  Comtesse  lifted  her  eyebrows  once  more. 

"  Only  five  persons  then  ?  "  she  said.  "  But  it  seems 
to  me  at  a  time  like  this " 

Blanche  did  not  leave  her  time  to  conclude  her 
sentence. 

"My  husband,"  she  said,  hastily,  "is  too  much 
indebted  to  the  Minister,  not  to  be  anxious  to  give  him 


THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET.    197 

privately  the  most  positive  marks  of  esteem  and  devo- 
tion. But,  my  dear  friend,  do  you  think  it  would  be 
advisable  to  draw  down  on  us  the  wrath  of  those 
persons  who  have  usurped  his  power?" 

"Ah!  Blanche,  you  have  not  the  courage  of  your 
opinions,"  cried  Madame  Praxis. 

Mullan,  who  was  watching  Blanche  from  under  his 
half-shut  lids,  was  absolutely  terrified  by  the  strange 
bitterness  which  flashed  into  her  face  at  these  words. 

The  situation  struck  him  as  a  most  critical  one,  and 
in  order  to  make  closer  observations,  he  rose  from  the 
cushioned  depths  of  the  chair  in  which  he  was  so 
luxuriously  established. 

"  After  all,"  said  Madame  de  Dreux,  slowly,  "  it  is 
not  by  any  means  certain  that  Monsieur  de  Fresnes 
will  be  conquered  in  this  struggle.  He  has  not  made 
his  speech  yet." 

"Ah!  my  child,  you  know  little  of  life.  Are  not 
honest  men  invariably  thrown  out  of  office,  sooner  or 
later!" 

"  Some  defeats  are  victories,"  answered  Blanche. 

"  Yes,  of  course.  And  if  you  are  determined  to 
believe  that  he  will  be  victorious,  I  certainly  will  not 
deprive  you  of  this  conviction.  Poor  dear  de  Fresnes ! 
They  will  never  find  such  another  man.  Shall  we 
have  a  game  of  cards  ?  Whist  with  a  dummy  ?  " 

"I  should  much  prefer  a  cup  of  tea,"  answered 
Blanche,  as  she  went  toward  the  tray  just  then 
brought  in. 

Mullan  rose,  and  took  two  or  three  turns  about  the 


198    THROWING  DOWN  THK  GAUNTLET. 

room,  finally  taking  his  stand  where  he  could  see 
Blanche  very  plainly  and  watch  every  fleeting  expres- 
sion on  her  face,  which  once  so  mobile,  was  now,  as  a 
rule,  set  and  firm. 

"What  is  going  on  in  Paris?"  she  said,  as  she 
poured  out  the  tea.  "  I  have  been  out  all  day,  but  my 
trades-people  are  not  instructive." 

"  There  is  plenty  of  gossip,"  answered  Mullan. 

"  Interesting  gossip  ?  " 

"  By  no  means  ;  but  some  of  it  is  rather  instructive." 

"  Mullan !  "  said  the  Comtesse,  severely,  "  when  you 
are  alone  with  me  I  allow  you  to  forget  the  respect 
you  ought  to  feel  for  my  aged  ears,  but  you  must 
respect  those  of  my  young  friends." 

"Madame  de  Dreux  does  not  doubt  my  respect," 
said  Mullan,  in  a  meaning  tone. 

Blanche  colored  deeply.  She  was  never  quite  sure 
how  much  he  suspected.  • 

"  There  are  three  stories  just  now  which  are  espe- 
cially interesting,"  continued  Mullan,  settling  himself 
once  more  in  his  chair.  "  The  first  one  is  about 
horses." 

"  We  will  omit  that ! "  said  Blanche,  disdainfully. 

"  Ah  !  you  do  not  care  for  horses  then  ?  You  aston- 
ish me  !  "  answered  Mullan,  in  a  tragic  tone.  "Can  it 
be  possible  that  there  is  any  one  who  does  not  like 
horses.  However,  I  will  proceed.  The  second  is  a 
love  story." 

"  Lawful  love  ?  "  asked  the  Comtesse. 

"Yes  and  no:   it  was  lawful  on  the  part  of  the 


THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET.    199 

husband,  who  loved  his  wife,  and  it  was  unlawful  on 
the  part  of  the  wife " 

"Who  did  not  love  her  husband?" 

"Ah!  it  is  not  unlawful  not  to  love  her  husband," 
answered  Mullan,  with  an  easy  good-natured  air,  "  but 
she  loves  another  than  he,  without  knowing  it  too." 

"Come  now,  Mullan,  no  romancing,"  said  the  Com- 
tesse  ;  "  go  on  with  your  story.  It  is  ridiculous  for  you 
to  say  that  a  woman  can  love  a  man  without  knowing 
it.  It  is  impossible  !  " 

"  Not  always ;  sometimes  one  does  not  wish  to  know 
it.  But  this  lady  was  enlightened  as  to  her  true 
sentiments." 

"  Well  ? "  said  Blanche,  a  little  pale,  and  with  a 
strange  feeling  at  her  heart. 

"  Well !  she  has  gone,  leaving  a  child  worse  than 
orphaned,  a  husband  who  is  a  widower,  and  worse  than 
a  widower." 

"  She  is  a  wretch,  at  all  events,"  said  the  Comtesse, 
with  considerable  animation.  "  Who  is  it  ?" 

"  The  newspapers  give  the  initials  ;  they  are  respect- 
able trades  people,"  answered  Mullan.  "  But  she  was 
an  honest  creature,"  he  added,  with  a  certain  melan- 
choly sweetness  in  his  voice.  "  As  long  as  she  did  not 
know,  she  resisted,  but  when  she  understood  the  truth 
she  was  ashamed  to  lie.  She  was  not  willing  to  blush 
before  her  husband  and  child.  In  my  opinion,  she  is 
much  to  be  pitied." 

"Pitied  indeed  !"  murmured  Madame  Praxis.  "It 
seems  to  me  that  these  are  most  singular  ideas  to 
advance.  I  don't  understand  them  !  " 


200    THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET. 

A  moment  later  Blanche  rose  to  leave,  refusing 
obstinately  to  allow  Mullan  to  go  with  her.  She 
wished  to  be  alone  with  her  own  thoughts. 

"No,  I  do  not  love  him,"  she  exclaimed,  when  the 
carriage  left  her  friend's  door,  and  she  found  herself 
alone  between  its  cushioned  walls. 

"  Love  him !  No !  I  have  loved  my  husband,  but 
that  love  in  no  degree  resembled  the  tender  friendship 
which  I  do  most  assuredly  feel  for  Monsieur  de  Fresnes. 

I  have  made  one  terrible  mistake  in  my  life,  and  I 
do  not  propose  to  make  another,  if  I  can  avoid  it." 

Blanche  entered  her  own  house  with  a  stronger  con- 
viction, than  ever  before  in  her  life,  that  she  should 
never  be  tempted  to  forget  her  own  womanly  dignity. 
She  passed  through  her  deserted  rooms,  with  the  air  of 
a  queen,  and  reached  her  own  room  perfectly  serene  in 
appearance,  but  in  reality  very  nervous  and  feverish. 

Seated  in  the  chimney  corner  was  Guy,  reading. 

"  Guy ! "  she  said,  in  a  tone  of  affright.  All  her 
dignity,  all  her  composure  fled  at  the  sight  of  this 
apparition.  What  was  he  doing  there  ?  For  more 
than  six  months  he  had  not  crossed  that  threshold. 
And  what  caprice  had  induced  him  to  penetrate  this 
room,  which  she  had  come  to  consider  an  asylum. 

"By  your  tone,  my  dear,"  answered  her  husband, 
with  a  smile,  "  I  can  see  that  you  are  annoyed.  Reas- 
sure yourself,  my  visit  shall  be  short.  I  came  to  speak 
to  you  of  that  dinner." 

"  What,  again?  "  answered  Blanche,  with  a  frown. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  yes,"  he  replied. 


THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET.    201 

Blanche  seated  herself  with  an  air  of  excessive 
weariness.  Guy  rose,  as  he  could  always  speak,  he 
thought,  to  better  effect,  leaning  against  the  chimney. 

"I  heard  to-night  that  De  Fresnes  is  to  speak  to- 
morrow." 

"Ah!" 

Blanche  felt  her  heart  give  a  sudden  leap,  but  her 
face  was  unmoved.  She  had  always  eagerly  desired  to 
hear  the  young  minister  make  a  speech,  and  now  she 
might  possibly  hear  him  on  the  day  of  his  defeat. 

"  It  is  possible  that  this  speech  may  save  him,  you 
know,"  continued  Guy,  "  and  it  may  also  render  his 
fall  only  more  conspicuous.  This  unhappy  dinner 
perplexes  me.  Is  there  no  way " 

"I  have  just  invited  Mullan  and  the  Comtesse 
Praxis,"  said  Blanche,  coldly. 

"  It  is  a  great  pity  !  "  murmured  Guy,  still  hesita- 
ting. "  I  had  thought  that  a  little  indisposition — " 

"  Your  own  ?  "  asked  Blanche,  carelessly. 

"No;  yours,  my  dear.  A  man  has  no  right  to  be 
indisposed." 

"  And  I  am  perfectly  well !  " 

Her  husband  looked  at  her.  A  vague  suspicion  that 
she  was  mocking  him  suddenly  came  to  his  mind. 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"  It  will  be  time  to  be  taken  ill  after  the  speech," 
she  said.  "  In  order  not  to  risk  a  brief  unpopularity, 
you  wanted  me  to  retract  my  invitation  to  Monsieur 
de  Fresnes?  Suppose  I  had  done  so,  and  Monsieur  de 
Fresues  were  more  popular  next  month  than  he  is 


202     THROWING  DOWN  THE  GAUNTLET. 

to-day.  Would  you  have  the  audacity  in  that  case  to 
invite  him  again  to  your  house?" 

"  Of  course  I  should  !  "  cried  Guy,  with  considerable 
warmth.  "I  should  not  be  a  politician,  if  I  could  not 
do  that!" 

"Very  good,"  answered  Blanche,  dryly.  "I  for- 
tunately know  nothing  of  politics.  However,  if  you 
take  my  advice,  you  will  allow  me  to  remain  in  excel- 
lent health  until  to-morrow  evening." 

"  So  be  it  then  !  "  answered  Guj%  enchanted  to  give 
his  real  submission  the  appearance  of  a  great  conces- 
sion. He  said  good-night,  and  she  escorted  him  to  the 
door  with  the  greatest  possible  politeness,  and  when 
he  had  gone  she  slipped  a  delightful  little  bolt  which 
secured  her  against  surprises ;  then  she  returned  to 
her  fire.  The  whole  room  now  displeased  her;  it 
seemed  to  her  at  that  moment  as  utterly  commonplace 
as  if  it  had  been  a  room  in  an  inn. 

George  was  gone ;  she  heard  the  wheels  on  the 
gravel  paths  under  her  window.  It  was  not  midnight 
— there  are  many  houses  in  Paris  where  people 
amuse  themselves  after  midnight.  Blanche  drew  a 
long,  heavy  sigh,  but  this  was  a  habit  with  her.  In 
reality,  she  was  at  this  moment  much  delighted. 

"  To-morrow,  to-morrow  is  the  great  battle ! "  she 
said,  as  she  dropped  asleep. 


APPROVAL.  203 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

APPROVAL. 

THE  next  day,  Madame  de  Dreux  ordered  the  car- 
riage at  an  early  hour ;  after  breakfasting  with 
her  children,  she  went  out  with  them  about  half-past 
one.  She  had  taken  the  resolution  to  spend  this  day 
out  of  doors,  deep  in  business.  In  two  hours  she  did 
wonders,  and  drove  all  over  Paris. 

When  four  o'clock  struck  at  the  Palais  Bourbon,  it 
so  happened,  by  a  singular  coincidence,  that  the  great 
family  carriage  turned  into  the  Place-de-la-Concorde 
from  La  Rue  Royale.  Madame  de  Dreux  had  still  a 
milliner  to  visit,  a  picture  to  see  at  an  artist's  studio,  a 
dress  to  try  on,  and  a  half-dozen  other  things  to  do. 
She  detested  the  daily  drive  on  the  Champs  Elysee*s, 
which  the  children  so  heartily  enjoyed.  Suddenly  she 
had  an  idea,  and  she  pulled  the  check-string. 

"  To  the  Palais  Bourbon,"  she  said,  "  You  will  leave 
me  there,  and  take  the  children  to  the  Hotel,  and 
then  return  here  for  me." 

Two  minutes  later  the  majestic  equipage  rolled 
away,  and  Blanche  was  within  the  dark  passage. 

"It  is  very  full,  Madame,"  said  the  old  huissier, 
respectfully,  instantly  recognizing  her,  for  he  had  seen 
her  many  times.  "  I  have  no  good  seat  to  offer  you,  I 
fear." 


204  APPROVAL. 

"  That  dpes  not  matter,"  said  Blanche,  as  she  drew 
her  veil  over  her  face.  "  I  do  not  care  to  see,  if  I  can 
only  hear  who  is  speaking." 

"  The  Minister  has  just  begun.  Ah  !  Madame,  what 
eloquence  ! " 

Blanche  was  seated  at  last  on  a  tabouret  in  a  dark 
corner.  Around  her  was  a  crowd  of  provincials 
stretching  out  their  necks  with  an  eager  air. 
She  leaned  against  the  wall  and  listened  attentively. 

The  voice  of  her  friend,  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  this 
voice  which  was  so  soft  and  sweet  in  a  room,  acquired 
in  public  the  rich  sonority  of  certain  copper-throated 
instruments  beautifully  managed  by  artists. 

Not  noisy,  not  loud,  but  rich  and  full,  making 
itself  heard  in  every  corner  of  the  chamber.  His 
very  voice  was  charming,  and  the  words  were  worth}' 
of  so  wonderful  an  instrument. 

Honor  and  Right,  the  consciousness  of  a  duty  ful- 
filled, pride  at  never  having  yielded  to  corruption  or 
violence — all  that  which  exalts  and  fills  the  heart  of  a 
political  man  when  he  loves  his  country,  and  places 
that  interest  above  his  personal  glory — all  those  senti- 
ments in  short,  which  stir  the  hearts  of  Frenchmen — 
palpitated  and  vibrated  in  the  discourse  of  the  Minister. 

Blanche  listened  in  absolute  ecstasy,  with  her  hands 
loosely  folded  on  her  knees  and  with  closed  eyes.  The 
people  about  her  turned  several  times  to  look  at  this 
motionless  woman  who  seemed  to  be  asleep,  and  then 
they  forgot  her. 

She  looked  at  the  orator,  and  from  time  to  time  a 


APPROVAL.  205 

dull  murmur,  a  sound  of  voices,  made  her  tremble 
with  sympathy. 

She  was  certain  by  this  time  that  Monsieur  de  Fresnes 
had  rapidly  regained  the  ground  he  had  lost.  Two  or 
three  rounds  of  applause  interrupted  him. 

"  Hush  !  Hush  !  "  was  the  cry  from  all  parts  of  the 
house. 

The  audience  were  determined  to  lose  nothing  of 
these  dignified  sentences ;  the  faces  of  all  showed  the 
most  earnest  attention,  and  those  good  sentiments 
which  lie  dormant  within  all  of  us,  were  awakened  by 
this  discourse. 

"  And  now,"  said  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  in  a  voice  as 
clear  and  fresh  as  a  bugle,  "let  the  country  choose 
between  those  who  have  told  them  the  truth  and  those 
by  whom  they  have  been  deceived  ;  between  those  who 
have  honored  their  native  land  and  those  who  traffic 
in  its  necessities.  I,  for  one,  shall  return  to  private 
life  with  unstained  brow  and  pure  hands,  proud  that  I 
have  had  it  in  my  power  to  save  France  !  " 

There  was  an  enthusiastic  outburst  which  ran  up 
and  down  the  benches.  The  votes  were  taken  amid 
this  tumult,  but  Blanche  had  gone.  Pulling  her  veil 
over  her  face,  which  was  bathed  in  tears,  she  fled  like 
a  criminal,  and  just  as  the  applause  came  she  entered 
her  carriage. 

When  she  reached  home  she  went  at  once  to  her 
room,  where,  with  her  hands  pressed  tight  upon  her 
heart,  she  walked  up  and  down  for  an  hour.  She  had 
no  consciousness  of  either  the  Past  or  the  Present. 


206  APPROVAL. 

Lucien's  voice  still  vibrated  in  her  ears  and  echoed 
through  her  heart.  She  repeated  over  and  over  again 
certain  phrases  and  certain  reflections,  which  were  to 
her  like  delicious  music.  The  noises  in  the  house  by 
degrees  recalled  her  to  her  senses.  She  seated  herself 
at  her  desk,  took  out  her  cards  of  invitation,  and 
aided  by  her  address  book,  wrote  fifty  names  chosen 
from  among  the  most  brilliant  persons  in  Paris.  Ten 
other  notes  were  sent  for  the  dinner.  Guy  coming 
back  in  an  hour's  time,  found  her  still  occupied  with 
this  business. 

"You  are  writing? "  he  said.  "  I  think  it  would  be 
well  to  invite  some  people  for  to-morrow.  De  Fresnes 
has  had  one  of  those  stupendous  successes  which  we 
do  not  see  once  in  ten  years.  Let  us  take  advantage 
of  the  circumstance." 

"  It  is  done,"  said  Madame  de  Dreux,  as  she  wrote 
the  last  address.  "  I  was  at  the  Chamber." 

"  You  are  a  wonderful  woman ! "  answered  her 
husband.  "  Upon  my  word,  I  am  sometimes  tempted 
to  believe  that  you  have  genius." 


AN    OVATION.  207 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

AN     OVATION. 

THE  next  evening  the  grand  salons  in  the  Hotel  de 
Dreux,  splendidly  illuminated,  were  thrown  open 
for  the  first  time  that  winter.  And  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes  had  through  Blanche,  an  ovation  which 
by  reason  of  the  people  assembled,  completed  the 
success  of  the  previous  evening. 

Madame  de  Dreux,  dressed  in  dark  red  velvet, 
looked  like  a  Venetian  portrait,  and  moved  about  in 
the  plenitude  of  her  joy  and  her  beauty,  like  a  goddess 
among  the  Olympian  clouds. 

She  closed  her  eyes  to  everything  but  the  Present — 
determined  to  see  nothing.  Prouder  than  a  wife, 
tenderer  than  a  sister,  she  felt  this  triumph  with  the 
thorough  enjoyment  of  a  generous  soul.  She  said  as 
much  to  herself,  eager  to  conceal  all  that  lay  under- 
neath the  surface. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  did  not  exchange  ten  words 
with  Blanche.  They  produced  the  effect  of  actors  in 
some  magnificent  part  played  before  this  crowd  of 
the  Slite. 

During  dinner,  though  they  sat  side  by  side,  they 
were  separated  by  the  formal  ceremony  of  state 
dinners,  and  said  only  a  few  words,  smiled  and  nod- 
ded, as  if  they  had  studied  their  parts. 


208  AN    OVATION. 

Blanche  had  done  much  the  same  the  day  of  her 
marriage,  during  that  interminable  wedding  breakfast. 
This  time  the  feeling  was  much  deeper  and  more 
emphatic. 

About  eleven  o'clock,  that  evening,  when  the  rooms 
were  rapidly  filling,  Lucien  found  himself  in  a  corner 
with  Blanche,  somewhat  apart  from  the  crowd.  It 
was  of  course  only  natural  that  the  Minister  should 
pay  some  marked  attention  to  the  mistress  of  the 
house. 

"You  ought  to  be  very  happy,"  said  Blanche, 
looking  at  him  with  her  violet  eyes  full  of  friendly 
sweetness. 

"And  I  am,"  he  answered,  "but  it  is  because  I 
realize  the  friend  you  are  to  me.  If  you  only  knew 
how  near  was  my  disgrace !  A  thread  spun  by 
a  spider  was  a  rope,  compared  to  that  which  held  the 
sword  of  Damocles  over  my  head.  The  King  said  as 
much  to  me  this  morning,  and  added — '  You  will  not 
be  able  to  keep  your  portfolio  long,  my  poor  De 
Fresnes,  but  keep  it  as  long  as  possible,  I  beg  of 
you.'  " 

"  Does  not  the  King  believe  in  the  duration  of  your 
ministry  ?  "  asked  Blanche,  in  great  surprise. 

"He  and  I  both  know  perfectly  well  that  I  hold 
my  position  for  not  more  than  two  weeks  longer." 
But  he  continued,  as  he  dropped  his  voice:  "That 
which  I  prize  above  everything,  and  which  will  make 
me  ever  grateful  to  the  capricious  public,  is  the  sympa- 
thy and  affection  which  you  have  shown  me.  The 


AN    OVATION.  209 

thought  that  I  count  for  something  in  your  life — while 
you  are  all  in  mine — " 

He  spoke  almost  in  a  whisper.  She  heard  him, 
however,  far  better  than  the  day  before  at  the  Palace 
Bourbon.  She  listened  with  eyes  cast  down.  Around 
her  quivering  lips  was  an  expression  almost  of  suffering. 

"All  that  a  woman  may  be — the  incarnation  of  all 
my  dreams,  all  that  is  noble  and  pure — I  see  in  you. 
Yesterday,  when  I  was  speaking,  I  thought  of  you  and 
said  to  myself  that  if  I  triumphed  you  would  be 
pleased.  I  saw  you,  though  you  were  far  away." 

"  I  was  there,"  said  Blanche. 

He  did  not  speak,  but  his  eyes  were  more  eloquent 
than  his  lips.  She  met  his  look  and  replied  with  a 
faint  smile.  Fifty  pair  of  eyes  might  possibly  be  on 
tnem  at  that  moment. 

"  When  shall  I  see  you  ?  "  he  asked,  as  he  rose. 

"  To-morrow,  at  five  o'clock,"  she  answered,  in  a 
calm  voice. 

Five  minutes  later,  he  left  the  room. 

When  the  last  guests  had  gone,  Blancne  went  to  her 
own  room.  Guy  followed  her,  talking  of  one  thing 
and  another.  When  she  reached  the  threshold,  she 
turned  to  say  good-night. 

"  You  are  wonderfully  beautiful,  dear  Blanche,"  he 
said,  affectionately.  "  Are  there  not  a  thousand  things 
for  us  to  talk  over  to-night  ?  " 

"  I  am  so  horribly  tired,"  she  answered.  "  Breakfast 
with  me  to-morrow,  and  we  will  talk  as  much  as  you 
wish." 

13 


210  AN    OVATION. 

"  Good-night  then,"  he  said,  somewhat  piqued. 

He  leaned  over  to  kiss  her.  She  drew  back  and  the 
kiss  remained  on  her  hair. 

Blanche  speedily  dismissed  her  maid,  and  when  she 
was  alone  she  shivered  from  head  to  foot  at  the  thought 
of  the  conjugal  kiss  she  had  just  escaped. 

"And  yet  he  is  my  husband,"  she  thought,  with  a 
feeling  of  intense  horror. 

The  truth  suddenly  appeared  before  her  like  a  hide- 
ous phantom — enormous  and  monstrous.  She  shrank 
back  from  that  frightful  vision. 

"  He  will  come  to-morrow !  "  she  said.  "  I  have  given 
him  a  rendezvous." 

Nothing  had  previously  opened  her  eyes;  riot 
Mullan's  warning  nor  her  own  pride,  formerly  so 
tenacious.  She  had  permitted  Lucien  to  make  a 
declaration,  to  ask  a  rendezvous ;  and  yet,  to  open  her 
eyes  it  had  been  necessary  that  her  husband — 

She  hid  her  face,  trying  to  fly  this  thought  and 
deny  to  herself  this  truth.  Her  efforts  were  useless. 
Now  that  her  eyes  were  opened,  she  could  see  the 
whole  disastrous  truth.  The  fall  to  her  pride  was  a 
bitter  one.  Comparing  herself  to  her  husband,  she 
had  acquired  a  strong  conviction  of  her  own  superi- 
ority. She  was  proud  because  she  knew  that  in  her 
life  and  on  her  conscience  was  neither  spot  nor  blemish. 
It  is  hard  to  acknowledge  that  one  has  fallen. 

Meanwhile  this  loyal  soul  could  not  long  deliberate 
before  her  duty.  In  the  morning  she  appeared  pale 
and  with  dark  circles  under  her  eyes,  a  very  different 


AN    OVATION.  211 

looking  creature  from  the  triumphant  woman  of  the 
night  before.  Saying  that  she  was  too  much  fatigued 
to  see  any  one,  she  gave  orders  that  nobody  should  be 
admitted  until  five  o'clock,  and  then  every  one.  On 
the  stroke  of  five,  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  appeared.  He 
was  received  by  Blanche  standing,  and  with  all  the 
marked  respect  due  to  his  position.  He  was  about  to 
express  his  astonishment,  but  she  checked  him. 

"  You  told  me,  yesterday,"  she  began,  without  any 
preamble,  "  that  neither  the  King  nor  yourself  were 
certain  of  the  duration  of  your  power,  did  you  not?" 

"  Yes,  Madame,"  he  answered,  surprised  by  so  simple 
a  remark. 

"  I  have  heard  you  spoken  of,"  she  continued,  "  in 
connection  with  Vienna,  and  it  seems  to  me,  sir,  that 
you  ought  to  take  advantage  of  the  present  difficulties 
of  your  position,  to  send  in  your  resignation  and  hasten 
to  Vienna." 

"  Hasten  to  Vienna,"  repeated  De  Fresnes,  with  a 
thrill  of  pain  in  his  voice.  "  Have  I  displeased  you, 
then?" 

Blanche  hesitated.  It  was  very  cruel  to  seem  hostile 
to  this  man  whom  she  loved  with  all  her  heart.  She 
had  not  the  necessary  courage. 

"  No,"  she  said,  bravely,  "  you  have  not  displeased 
me.  But  you  ought  to  go  away,  sir;  honor  and  duty 
demand  it.  You  owe  it  to  yourself  to  do  this.  There 
are  some  resolutions  which  are  very  hard  to  decide 
upon,  but  they  are  often  the  best.  Some  persons  may 
keep  for  a  long  time  on  the  edge  of  the  abyss  without 


212  AN    OVATION. 

ever  falling  in,  while  others  not  only  fall,  but  die  of  the 
fall.  Go  to  Vienna,  sir.  I  assure  you  that  you  ought 
to  go  to  Vienna." 

He  looked  earnestly  in  her  face.  Great  compassion 
filled  his  heart.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  she  re- 
strained her  tears.  Her  hollow  eyes,  her  trembling  lips, 
touched  him  profoundly,  for  she  was  evidently  suffer- 
ing. He  still  hesitated.  He  loved  her  very  dearly. 
She  had  slowly  taken  possession  of  his  whole  being  in 
the  last  six  months ;  she  had  become  the  dominant 
thought  of  his  life.  It  was  necessary  now  to  leave 
her,  and  renounce  a  chimerical  hope  of  happiness,  and 
that  at  the  moment  when  she  loved  him,  and  because 
she  loved  him. 

"Go  to  Vienna,"  repeated  Blanche,  turning  very 
pale. 

Her  strength  deserted  her. 

"  You  insist  on  it !  "  he  said,  bitterly. 

"I  implore  you  to  go,"  she  answered,  in  a  low  voice, 
as  she  sank  into  the  depths  of  an  arm-chair. 

He  looked  at  her  for  a  moment,  then  bowed  over  the 
hand  that  rested  on  the  arm  of  her  chair. 

"  To  be  revered,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  "  always  to 
be  loved — always  to  be  lamented.  I  love  you  so  much 
that  I  obey  you.  I  will  not  cause  you  to  shed  one 
tear.  Be  happy,  fair  saint." 

"  Happy  !  "  she  murmured,  sadly. 

"  Be  at  peace  then.  Ah !  it  matters  little  to  what 
distance  you  exile  me — I  shall  still  adore  you." 

A  step  was  heard  in  the  next  room. 


AN    OVATION.  213 

"  Adieu,"  he  said,  pressing  his  lips  passionately  on 
the  hand  of  Madame  de  Dreux. 

"Adieu,"  she  murmured,  in  reply. 

The  footman  appeared  with  a  card. 

"Too  late,"  she  said,  without  looking  at  it.  "I 
receive  no  more  to-day." 

The  Minister's  carriage  drove  away.  Blanche  fled 
to  her  room,  and  was  not  seen  for  two  days. 

A  week  later,  to  the  astonishmemt  of  every  one, 
Monsieur  de  Fresnes  was  made  Minister  to  Vienna. 
Probably  his  diplomatic  duties  allowed  no  delay,  for 
he  went  off  without  having  had  time  to  take  leave  of 
any  one. 


214  SPRING    IN    THE    COUNTRY. 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

SPRING    IN    THE     COUNTRY. 

NEVER  had  the  woods  at  Mesnil  been  so  beautiful 
as  in  the  spring  of  the  year  which  followed  the 
departure  of  Monsieur  de  Fresnes.  Before  May  they 
were  full  of  nests  and  merry,  twittering  birds.  Made- 
line, who  went  there  early  in  April,  wrote  to  Madame 
de  Dreux,  in  the  hope  of  inducing  her  to  hasten  her 
departure  from  Paris. 

Blanche  asked  nothing  better.  The  session  was 
over;  her  husband  could  now  speak  to  his  friends 
without  running  the  risk  of  compromising  himself,  for 
all  he  said  was  invested  with  a  certain  dignity,  and 
looked  upon  as  mere  words  with  which  he,  skilful 
politician  as  he  was,  chose  to  disguise  his  thoughts  and 
opinions.  Guy's  reputation  was  now  so  thoroughly 
established,  that  he  must  have  been  guilty  of  the 
most  unparalleled  and  repeated  follies  ere  it  could 
have  been  shaken. 

When  a  reputation  is  once  made — it  matters  not  of 
what  kind — it  defies  all  attacks,  even  those  of  time, 
and  under  its  shelter  one  may,  with  impunity,  do 
things  which  in  another  person  would  be  most 
promptly  and  vehemently  blamed. 

Guy's  position,  on  the  occasion  of  the  attack  on 
De  Fresnes,  had  won  for  him  great  applause.  The 


SPRING    IN     THE     COUNTRY.  215 

King,  Louis  Philippe,  had  expressed  in  public  his  ap- 
proval of  the  courage  shown  by  this  young  Deputy, 
who  had  not  been  afraid  to  openly  espouse  the  cause 
of  his  favorite  Minister. 

After  this,  Guy  believed  that  he  might  achieve  any- 
thing he  pleased,  and  he  was  not  far  wrong.  At  this 
epoch  a  little  Don  Quixotism  was  not  amiss  in  politics, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  more  practical  qualities  of 
Sancho  Panza  were  duly  appreciated. 

When  consulted  in  regard  to  leaving  town  for  Mes- 
nil,  Guy  made  some  objections,  and  finally  ended  by 
saying  that  he  regarded  Mesnil,  except  in  the  hunting 
season,  as  an  absolute  desert,  and  that  he  should  go 
there  with  reluctance. 

"  Nevertheless,  my  dear,  if  you  insist,"  he  added, 
with  the  exquisite  grace  which  was  one  of  his  greatest 
charms. 

Personally,  Blanche  did  not  insist,  but  Guy's  con- 
stituents were  somewhat  more  exacting. 

On  this  point,  Monsieur  had  an  idea ;  in  fact,  we 
may  say,  that  he  had  two,  which,  under  the  circum- 
stances, was  a  wonderful  thing.  The  first  was,  that  as 
the  elections  did  not  take  place  until  the  following 
year,  it  would  be  entirely  useless  to  put  himself  to 
any  inconvenience  at  present.  The  second  was,  that 
Blanche,  with  her  charitable  impulses  and  habits, 
would  be  an  excellent  missionary  and  agent  among 
the  dwellings  of  the  peasant. 

"  But,"  said  Guy,  for  he  had  a  very  clear  perception 
of  what  was  expected  of  him,  "  you  must  be  sure  and 


216  SPRING    IN    THE    COUNTRY. 

ask  a  Mayor  or  two  to  dinner,  from  time  to  time,  and 
when  you  find  it  not  too  impossible,  ask  their  wives 
also." 

"What  do  you  call  too  impossible?"  inquired 
Blanche,  determined  to  make  her  husband  express 
himself  in  words. 

"  Well,"  answered  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  hesitating  a 
little,  "if  she  eats  with  a  pointed  knife  which  she 
takes  from  her  pocket,  I  should  call  her  impossible; 
but  if  she  understands  the  use  of  a  knife,  you  might 
ask  her." 

Blanche  laughed,  and  promised  to  be  guided  by  this 
rule,  and  one  fine  morning  in  May  the  family  at  the 
Hotel  de  Dreux  entered  two  berlins, — children,  tutor 
and  governess, — and  drove  away  in  a  soft  rain,  which 
promised  well  for  the  violets  and  lilies  of  the  valley 
at  Mesnil. 

"  How  you  are  changed !  " 

This  exclamation  escaped  from  the  lips  of  Madame 
Lecomte,  the  moment  that  the  foot  of  her  friend 
touched  the  steps  at  Mesnil. 

With  their  arms  around  each  other,  Blanche  and 
Madeline  passed  through  the  wide  vestibule  and 
entered  the  salon,  which  Madame  Lecomte  had  filled 
with  flowers. 

Blanche  looked  around  her — this  place  was  full  of 
memories,  both  bitter  and  sweet,  and  turning  away 
her  face,  burst  into  tears. 

Madeline  wept  also,  but  her  tears  were  easily 
accounted  for,  and  she  made  no  mystery  of  her  grief. 


SPRING    IN    THE     COUNTRY.  217 

Blanche,  on  the  contrary,  was  obliged  to  conceal  her 
sorrow ;  she  tried  to  smile,  said  she  was  nervous  and 
overdone  by  her  journey,  and  moving  about  the  room, 
endeavored  to  give  it  its  usual  air  by  changing  the 
places  of  the  chairs  and  ornaments. 

"You  are  not  ill?"  asked  Madame  Lecomte,  for- 
getting her  own  grief  in  the  presence  of  the  trouble  of 
her  friend,  a  trouble  which  must  be  serious  enough  to 
leave  such  evident  traces  on  the  fair  face  of  Blanche. 

"Not  now — do  not  ask  me  now,"  said  Blanche,  with 
a  gesture  which  seemed  to  ask  for  peace  and  silence. 

Days  passed,  however,  and  Blanche  made  no  confi- 
dence to  her  friend,  who  asked  her  no  questions. 
Madeline  knew,  however,  that  there  could  never  be 
any  secret  between  them,  and  that  a  day  would  come 
when  Blanche  would  open  her  heart,  she  felt  very 
sure. 

The  glory  of  the  white  hawthorne,  which  surrounds 
a  Brittany  spring  like  a  halo,  was  in  all  its  fullness, 
when  Madame  de  Dreux,  for  the  first  time,  determined 
on  a  drive  beyond  the  grounds  of  the  chateau.  One 
day,  after  breakfast,  she  ordered  to  be  brought  round  a 
small  English  carriage,  which  her  husband  used  when 
he  wished  to  see  those  of  his  constituents  who  lived  in 
somewhat  inaccessible  quarters,  and  taking  the  reins 
in  her  own  hands  she  started  off  with  her  friend  upon 
an  excursion,  which  was  very  like  a  pilgrimage. 

She  avoided  the  coast,  which  was  always  a  most 
painful  sight  for  Madeline,  and  turning  into  a  lovely 
road,  winding  through  the  valley,  she  soon  found  her- 


218  SPRING    IN    THE     COUNTRY. 

self  in  the  woods,  still  wet  from  the  rain  of  the 
previous  night,  and  full  of  the  delicious  odor  of 
all  growing  things.  The  English  pony  was  allowed 
t®  go  as  he  would,  and  under  the  green  trees,  through 
whose  young  leaves  flickered  the  yellow  sunlight,  the 
hearts  of  the  two  women  opened  to  each  other. 

"Have  you  begun  to  endure  life  again?"  asked 
Blanche,  without  looking  at  the  young  widow.  The 
question  she  felt  to  be  too  much;  she  dared  not  look 
at  her  friend. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Madeline,  in  so  steady  a  tone  that 
Madame  de  Dreux  ventured  to  turn  toward  her. 
"  Life  is  not  intolerable  to  me.  I  have  brought  all 
Gerard's  papers  here,  and  thanks  to  his  written  notes 
and  still  more  to  the  long  conversations  we  used  to 
hold  during  all  the  years  we  lived  together,  I  believe 
that  I  may  yet  find  happiness ;  that  a  great  joy  is  in 
store  for  me." 

Her  voice  was  calm,  and  in  it  was  a  ring  of  absolute 
content. 

Blanche,  in  great  surprise,  turned  and  looked  at 
her  with  keen  attention.  In  those  soft  eyes,  weary 
with  tears,  there  was  indeed  a  look  of  content.  What 
possible  joy  could  there  be  in  store  for  the  heart  of  the 
widow. 

"I  have  acquired  the  certainty,"  she  continued, 
"  that  after  putting  in  order  all  the  documents  prepared 
by  Gerard,  on  a  certain  subject,  under  the  light  of  his 
instructions,  I  may  venture  to  publish  a  book  made 
up  of  these  documents  and  notes.  Afterward  there 


SPRING    IN    THE    COUNTRY.  219 

will  be  possibly  another  volume.  In  this  way  his 
dearest  dream,  that  of  being  useful,  will  be  realized." 

"  And,"  she  continued,  with  her  eyes  fixed  on  the 
varying  shades  of  green  among  the  forest  trees,  "I  am 
thankfirf  every  day  for  the  love  of  my  dear  husband, 
who  treated  me  always  like  a  friend  and  enlightened 
my  ignorance  by  talking  familiarly  with  me — making 
another  self  of  me,  so  that  now  I  am  enabled  to  com- 
plete his  self-appointed  task,  and  rescue  his  name  from 
oblivion." 

Blanche  did  not  reply.  Madeline,  in  her  turn,  now 
studied  the  face  of  her  companion. 

"You  are  weeping?"  she  said. 

In  fact,  tears  were  dropping  fast  on  the  gloved 
hands  of  Madame  de  Dreux.  She  did  not  turn  away 
her  face,  and  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  her  emotion. 

"I  envy  you,"  she  said.  "What  would  I  not  give 
to  have,  like  yourself,  such  a  precious  duty, — that  of 
preserving  the  memory  of  some  beloved  one  from 
oblivion ! " 

Madeline  said  not  one  word.  She  had  long  since 
taken  an  accurate  measure  of  Guy's  real  value. 

Blanche  gathered  up  the  reins  and  lightly  touched 
the  half-asleep  horse  with  her  whip. 

Presently  the  trees  became  less  crowded,  and  after  a 
little,  glimpses  of  a  village  were  obtained.  Blanche, 
however,  turned  to  the  left  before  the  village  was 
reached,  and  soon  passed  a  house  built  in  the  style 
once  so  common  in  Brittany;  it  was  of  gray  stone, 
surrounded  by  high  walls,  with  a  court-yard  planted 
with  trees. 


220  SPRING    IN    THE    COUNTRY. 

"  What  is  this  place  ?  "  asked  Madeline. 

"  It  is  the  one  which  belongs  to  Monsieur  de  Fres- 
nes,"  answered  Blanche,  with  difficulty  pronouncing 
the  name  which  now  for  the  first  time  since  her  return 
to  Mesnil  passed  her  lips. 

As  they  drove  past  the  court-yard  they  saw  a  man 
washing  a  carriage.  Blanche  took  little  heed  of  this,  as 
carriages  may  be  washed  in  the  absence  of  their 
owners,  and  soon  the  house  was  left  far  behind  them. 

The  shadow  of  the  trees  was  now  very  grateful,  as 
the  sun  was  getting  higher,  and  the  wheels  rolled 
noiselessly  along  and  the  friends  were  silent.  Pres- 
ently they  heard  at  a  distance  the  measured  gallop  of 
a  horse.  Blanche  lifted  her  head  as  if  she  scented 
danger  in  the  air.  She  touched  her  horse  with  the 
whip,  and  the  docile  animal  quickened  his  pace.  The 
road  made  a  sharp  turn,  and  from  behind  a  clump  of 
chestnuts  appeared  the  black  head  of  a  horse.  Blanche 
knew  the  horse,  and  presently  recognized  the  cavalier. 

"  Monsieur  de  Fresnes ! "  exclaimed  Madeline,  in 
amazement,  "  I  thought  he  was  in  Austria." 

Blanche  did  not  speak.  She  bent  forward  to  return 
his  respectful  salutation  with  her  eyes  cast  down,  for 
she  did  not  dare  lift  them  to  meet  his  own. 

After  the  horse  and  his  rider  had  passed,  and  all 
was  again  quiet  along  the  road,  Madeline  looked  at 
her  friend,  and  the  questions  which  rose  to  her  lips 
were  frozen  there. 

"Madeline,"  said  Blanche,  in  a  low  voice,  as  they 
returned  to  Mesnil,  "I  am  very  unhappy — more 
unhappy  by  far  than  yourself." 


ROCKS    AHEAD.  221 

CHAPTER   XIX. 
KOCKS   AHEAD! 

AFTER  a  sleepless  night,  Madame  de  Dreux  rose 
early ;  Madeline  was  still  asleep ;  the  two  friends 
had  sat  up  very  late  the  evening  before ;  they  did  not 
talk  to  each  other,  and  yet  they  felt  that  they  must  be 
together. 

The  children  were  awake  and  chattering  in  their 
nursery.  The  unusually  early  visit  from  their  mother 
caused  them  to  utter  little  shrieks  of  joy,  and  startled 
the  servants,  who  thought  they  had  been  guilty  of 
some  negligence  which  merited  reproof.  This  duty 
accomplished,  Blanche  went  down  into  the  garden. 

The  air  was  delicious,  the  sea  was  blue  with  silvery 
specks  of  foam  here  and  there.  Light  fleecy  clouds 
flitted  over  the  sky.  The  light-house — how  many 
times  during  that  long  winter  had  Blanche  thought  of 
the  light-house ! — the  light-house  shining  in  the  sun, 
stood  on  its  rock  like  a  column  of  rose-tinted  alabas- 
ter. Sea  birds  flew  over  the  beach,  and  sparrows 
twittered  merrily  about  the  eaves  of  the  chateau. 

An  exuberance  of  life,  of  spring,  emanated  from 
every  growing  thing — from  the  leaves  and  the  mead- 
ows, from  the  very  air,  which  was  full  of  white  butter- 
flies that  looked  like  winged  flowers.  Blanche  left 
the  garden.  She  felt  a  strong  desire  to  weep  in  the 


222  ROCKS    AHEAD. 

presence  of  all  this  youth  and  freshness.  She  returned 
to  the  house,  and  going  through  the  salon  went  out  on 
the  terrace.  From  there  she  saw  no  trees,  no  verdure, 
only  immensity  of  space — a  long  stretch  of  beach  and 
the  wide  open  sea. 

The  terrace  offered  new  dangers.  Blanche  went  at 
once  to  the  place  where  she  had  sat  the  preceding 
year,  when  for  the  first  time  she  had  yielded  to  the 
entreaties  of  her  husband,  and  invited  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes  to  dinner. 

So  much  the  worse  for  those  who  had  urged  her  to 
a  step  to  which  she  had  consented  with  so  much  reluc- 
tance. If  she  suffered  at  present,  if  her  heart  were 
slowly  breaking,  if  she  felt  that  life  had  no  interest  for 
her  unless  she  could  make  up  her  mind  to  close  her 
eyes  to  her  duties,  it  at  least  was  in  no  degree  her 
fault. 

Had  she  not  objected  again  and  again  ?  Had  she 
not  been  alternately  urged  and  blamed?  Had  not 
Monsieur  de  Dreux  himself  said,  in  this  very  spot, 
that  her  unreasonable  prejudice  against  the  Minister 
would  be  the  ruin  of  his  own  personal  hopes? 

"They  did  it  themselves,"  said  Blanche,  bitterly. 
"  They  could  not  see  that  this  man  was  as  far  above 
them  all  as  the  sun  itself,  and  that  if  I  saw  him  I 
should  love  him,  and  that  if  I  admitted  him  to  the 
intimacy  of  my  home,  that  I  should  be  utterly  without 
defence  ! " 

A  hand  was  laid  lightly  and  tenderly  on  the  shoulder 
of  this  despairing  woman.  She  turned  quickly.  It 
was  Madeline. 


ROCKS    AHEAD.  223 

"  Yes,"  said  the  young  widow,  answering  the  gaze 
which  was  fixed  upon  her,  and  suddenly  divining  all 
that  was  passing  in  this  unhappy  soul.  "Yes,"  said 
the  young  widow,  "yes,  they  seem  to  you  to  have 
sought  your  ruin,  Blanche,  but  remember,  they  did  it 
unconsciously." 

"Are  you  sure  of  that?"  asked  Madame  de  Dreux, 
looking  her  friend  intently  in  the  eyes.  "Are  you 
sure  of  what  you  say  ?  Were  they  all  blind  ?  " 

"  I  swear  it !"  answered  Madeline,  lifting  her  hand 
to  the  Eternal  sky,  calling  upon  it  to  witness  her  oath. 

"  Who  told  you  so  ?  "  said  Blanche  in  some  irritation. 

"  Gerard.  The  very  evening  before  his  death,  we 
were  talking  of  you  and  also  of  another.  Gerard  had 
divined  all  of  which  you  were  then  ignorant,  my  dear 
and  noble  friend,  and  while  he  deplored  the  blind  obsti- 
nacy of  your  husband,  he  spoke  of  your  pushing  your 
loyalty  almost  to  absurdity." 

"  I  suppose  I  was  as  loyal  as  was  compatible  with 
my  ambition,"  answered  Blanche,  with  a  bitter  laugh. 

"  You  have  always  been  loyal,  Blanche ;  do  not 
now  be  blind.  If  your  husband  were  capable  of  what 
you  suppose,  an  error  on  your  part  might  be  excu- 
sable in  your  own  eyes ;  but  you  must  commit  no 
such  mistake.  He  has  done  you  no  wrong  in  this 
respect." 

Blanche  dropped  her  weary  hands.  All  that  winter 
she  had  been  haunted  with  terrible  doubts,  and  had 
asked  herself  over  and  over  again,  if  underneath  her 
husband's  extraordinary  indulgence  and  persistency 


224  ROCKS    AHEAD. 

there  was  not  some  frightful  meaning.  Now  that  this 
suspicion  was  removed,  she  uttered  a  long  sigh  of 
relief,  but  her  irritation  was  not  at  once  dissipated. 

"  Why  has  he  come  back  ?  "  whispered  Madeline. 

"Ah!  How  do  I  know?"  answered  Blanche,  wring- 
ing her  hands.  "  Possibly  to  torture  a  poor  soul  that 
is  weary  of  struggling,  weary  of  suffering !  " 

Madeline  looked  at  her  for  a  moment.  Swift  blushes 
passed  over  her  friend's  fair  face,  followed  by  waxen 
pallor. 

"Come  to  my  room,"  she  said,  drawing  Blanche 
away.  "  Come,  and  let  me  show  you  some  of  my 
husband's  papers." 

Blanche  instantly  understood.  The  young  widow 
wished  to  evoke  the  image  of  an  honorable  love,  of  a 
duty  courageously  accepted  though  it  led  to  the  tomb. 

Blanche  went  with  her  friend. 


"ON    THE    TERRACE."  225 

CHAPTER  XX. 

"ON    THE    TEKKACE." 

HIKE  great  clock  at  Mesnil  slowly  struck  the  hour 
JL  of  two.  The  sun  shone  with  dazzling  brilliancy 
on  the  garden,  with  its  rose  trees  just  bursting  into 
bloom.  The  servants  were  moving  busily  about  in  the 
court-yard.  An  under-gardener  was  conscientiously 
raking  the  avenue,  and  the  sound  of  his  rake  was  pain- 
ful from  its  sharp  regularity.  Blanche,  standing  look- 
ing out  into  the  garden,  half  leaning  against  the  long 
window,  tapped  impatiently  on  the  greenish  tinted 
glass  with  restless  fingers.  She  was  waiting.  He 
would  come,  of  course ;  if  not,  why  had  he  returned 
from  Vienna? 

"Blanche  !  "  said  Madeline,  in  her  gentle  voice,  "let 
us  go  out  on  the  terrace." 

Madame  de  Dreux  obeyed.  She  was  so  entirely 
determined  to  resist  on  important  points  that  where 
trifles  were  involved  she  was  ready  to  yield. 

They  seated  themselves  under  an  awning,  which 
protected  them  from  the  sun.  Madame  Lecomte  had 
ordered  it  to  be  put  up,  and  in  all  probability  had 
arranged  it  in  such  a  way  that  it  obstructed  all  view 
of  the  residence  of  Monsieur  de  Fresnes. 

"  It  is  something,"  said  Madeline,  continuing  a  con- 
versation which  had  that  morning  been  begun  in  her 
14 


226  "ON    THE    TERRACE." 

room ;  "  it  is  something  to  live  for  an  idea — a  great 
idea.  My  husband  lived  for  his  work,  and  I,  his 
widow,  I  live  to  make  him  known  to  our  contempora- 
ries. It  is  a  great  support,  you  see !  And  you  ?  " 

"  I ! "  said  Blanche,  disdainfully.    "  I  live  for  pride." 

"  Pride,  do  you  call  it  ?  I  should  give  a  very  differ- 
ent name  to  the  motive  power  of  your  life.  I  consider 
that  you  have  simply  guarded  your  dignity — that  you 
have  feared  the  smallest  smirch  on  your  purity  more 
than  many  other  women  would  dread  a  complete  bath 
in  the  mud — and  that  it  is  your  own  great  self-respect 
which  has  made  you  what  you  are,  so  strong  and  so 
elevated  in  principles  and  in  acts." 

Blanche  did  not  interrupt  her  friend.  It  is  very 
sweet  to  hear  words  of  heartfelt  commendation,  espe- 
cially when  we  know  that  we  deserve  the  praise. 

"Women  like  yourself,"  continued  Madeline,  "live 
a  life  so  apart  from  all  others,  that  they  cannot  con- 
duct themselves  in  the  same  way—  they  are  placed,  as 
it  were,  upon  a  pedestal,  where  they  must  remain 
whether  they  like  it  or  no,  for  those  persons  who  have 
more  or  less  resented  their  superiority  will  greet  their 
fall  with  ferocious  joy." 

"  What  does  it  matter ! "  cried  Blanche.  "  Happi- 
ness is  well  worth  paying  for." 

"  Happiness !  "  answered  Madeline,  in  a  low  voice. 
"Is  that  what  you  call  happiness?  Is  not  happiness 
rather,  consideration  for  those  about  us — fulfilment  of 
our  duties — the  honor  of  our  children?" 

"  Hush ! "    cried    Blanche.      "  It    is    with    similar 


"ON    THE    TERRACE."  227 

sophistry  that  Hindoo  women  are  induced  to  burn 
themselves  on  the  bodies  of  their  husbands ! " 

"  Is  the  honor  of  our  children  sophistry  ? "  asked 
Madeline,  in  the  same  gentle  voice. 

A  noise  of  wheels  on  the  gravel  was  heard.  Ma- 
dame Lecomte  turned  pale.  Blanche  started  up,  and 
stood  listening  with  lips  apart. 

A  servant  crossed  the  terrace  with  the  slow  dignity 
which  he  judged  suitable  to  the  occasion,  and  pre- 
sented to  Madame  de  Dreux  the  card  of  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes. 

"  Show  him  in,"  said  his  mistress. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ? "  asked  Madeline, 
much  troubled. 

"  I  do  not  know ! "  answered  Blanche,  with  a  gesture 
of  despair. 

She  entered  the  salon.  Lucien  stood  awaiting  her 
in  the  center  of  the  room.  He  was  horribly  pale,  but 
perfectly  self-possessed.  He  bowed  low  before  her. 

Through  the  windows  which  looked  out  on  the  court 
Blanche  saw  a  travelling  carriage  and  four  horses. 

"  I  came  back,"  he  said,  abruptly — "  I  came  back 
because  I  could  not  live  without  you."  He  paused, 
and  then  continued  in  a  voice  which  showed  his 
emotion:  "It  seemed  tome  that  you  banished  me 
without  comprehending  what  was  within  the  bounds  of 
possibility.  I  do  not  wish  you  to  remain  under  your 
husband's  roof  and  be  afraid  to  meet  his  eyes.  I  ask 
you  to  go  with  me  where  I  can  devote  my  whole  life 
to  you.  My  carriage  awaits  us.  Come  with  me, 


228  "ON    THE    TERRACE." 

Blanche  ;  I  love  you  with  all  my  heart  and  soul.  Let 
us  go,  at  once  and  forever ! " 

She  trembled  from  head  to  foot,  and  drew  back. 

"  My  children ! "  she  gasped. 

He  made  a  little  gesture  of  impatience. 

"  No  matter  what  one  does,"  he  answered,  "  life  is 
full  of  pain  and  sorrow.  Your  children  belong  to 
their  father.  We  have  no  right  to  take  them  with  us. 
Blanche,  I  love  you  !  What  I  have  suffered  in  seeing 
you  misunderstood  and  insulted  I  can  never  tell  you, 
least  of  all  here,  but  I  have  determined  to  put  an  end 
to  it.  Since  I  have  been  away,  you  have  become  daily 
more  and  more  dear  to  me.  You  love  me,  I  know ; 
tell  me  that  I  have  not  dreamed  it." 

"I  love  you,"  answered  Blanche,  in  a  dull,  echoless 
voice.  She  hardly  knew  whether  she  was  living  or 
not. 

"  We  can  be  happy,"  said  De  Fresnes ;  "  we  shall  be 
soon  forgotten,  for  we  shall  ask  nothing  from  any  one. 
Ah !  Blanche,  if  I  dared — if  I  dared  to  kneel  at  your 
feet,  and  compel  you  to  look  into  my  eyes,  you  would 
not  be  able  to  hesitate.  But  I  cannot.  Look  at  me,  I 
implore  you." 

The  doors  of  the  salon,  standing  wide  open,  were 
now  her  best  protection,  for  De  Fresnes  did  not  dare 
advance  a  step  nearer. 

"  I  am  fully  aware  of  what  I  am  proposing  to  you 
to  leave,"  he  continued.  "  I  know  all  the  bitterness 
which  would  necessarily  be  the  accompaniment  of  our 
flight,  but  you  will  be  so  happy,  Blanche !  I  will  make 


"ON    THE     TERRACE."  229 

of  your  life  one  perpetual  scene  of  enchantment.  Is 
not  happiness  worth  any  price  ?  " 

Madeline  now  appeared  on  the  threshold  of  the  long 
glass  door  leading  out  upon  the  terrace. 

"  Not  that  of  honor ! "  she  said,  in  her  soft  voice. 

"  Leave  ine ! "  said  Blanche,  turning  angrily  upon 
her  friend. 

Madeline  shook  her  head. 

"  Think,"  she  continued ;  "  think  of  the  day  when 
your  name  will  be  dishonored,  your  children  given 
over  to  the  guardianship  of  other  hands,  because 
your's  are  too  stained  to  touch  them.  I  know,  widow 
as  I  am,  what  it  is  to  be  respected.  Could  you  endure 
contempt?" 

"  Hush !  "  cried  Blanche,  "  hush !  I  will  not  hear 
you." 

"No,"  said  Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  "listen  to  your 
friend ;  she  is  right.  Before  going  away  with  me  you 
ought  deliberately  to  depict  to  yourself  all  the  dan- 
gers, all  the  sorrows  which  you  must  endure.  I  will 
not  urge  you  to  go,  contrary  to  your  own  judgment. 
The  dangers  are  nothing,  the  sorrows  will  be  quickly 
forgotten.  I  love  you  enough  to  assure  you  of  that." 

Blanche  stretched  out  her  arms  to  him.  He  took 
one  step  toward  her,  and  then  stopped,  withheld  by 
the  respect  inspired  by  Madeline.  He  took  in  his  the 
two  slender  hands  of  Madame  de  Dreux,  and  pressing 
them  to  his  heart,  said  in  a  voice  that  was  thrilled 
with  joy: 

"Let  us  go!" 


230  "ON    THE    TERRACE." 

*  And  if  your  husband  kills  him,"  said  Madeline 
placing  her  cold  hand  on  theirs. 

Blanche  tore  herself  away,  and  fled  to  the  other  end 
of  the  salon,  where  she  stood  panting,  supporting  her- 
self against  the  wall. 

"  Ah ! "  she  moaned,  "  ah !  Madeline,  you  are 
stronger  than  I — you  have  conquered !  " 

"Do  not  listen  to  her !  "  cried  Lucien,  as  he  hastened 
to  her  side. 

Madame  Lecomte  quickly  closed  the  doors  of  the 
salon,  and  then  went  back  to  Blanche. 

"Monsieur  de  Dreux  will  kill  you,"  she  said  to 
Lucien,  "  or  you  will  kill  him.  Think  of  the  fate  of 
this  poor  creature  if  you  were  to  die.  If  it  is  he  who 
is  killed,  can  you  live  happily  with  the  mother  of  the 
two  orphans  ?  Go — Life  has  bitter  battles  for  you  to 
fight,  and  you  will  act  your  part,  valiantly,  no  doubt ; 
but  do  not  compel  this  most  unhappy  woman  to  strug- 
gle with  shame  and  dishonor.  Such  a  course  is  worthy 
neither  of  you  nor  of  her  I  " 

"  Is  this  your  opinion  ?  "  asked  Monsieur  de  Fresnes, 
bowing  low  before  Madame  de  Dreux. 

"  Go,"  she  said.  "  I  can  not  think  of  your  life 
endangered  for  my  sake.  I  shall  never  cease  to  love 
you,  but  it  must  be  at  a  distance." 

He  snatched  her  hand  and  pressed  it  to  his  lips,  but 
he  had  lost  his  power  over  her. 

With  a  parting  salutation  to  Madeline,  he  crossed 
the  salon ;  on  the  threshold  he  turned. 

"  Farewell,  forever  ?  "  he  asked. 


"ON    THE    TERRACE." 

"  Forever ! "  was  her  reply. 

He  departed,  and  in  another  moment  the  carriage 
rolled  past  the  windows. 

"  You  are  saved  !  "  cried  Madeline,  taking  Blanche 
in  her  arms. 

"  At  the  price  of  my  utter  misery  for  the  rest  of  my 
life  I "  sht>  answered,  without  returning  her  friend's 
embrace. 


232  A    FRIEND    IN 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

A     FRIEND     IN     NEED. 

npHEY  did  not  speak  again  for  some  time.  Blanche 
JL  had  thrown  herself  into  an  arm-chair,  utterly 
exhausted  by  the  frightful  shock  she  had  undergone. 
Madeline  dared  neither  to  leave  her  nor  to  go  near 
her. 

A  long  time  must  elapse  before  we  can  thank  our 
friends  who  prevent  us  from  committing  a  fault;  at 
first  we  can  but  rebel  against  their  interference. 

The  afternoon  slowly  passed  away.  Twice  Made- 
line went  out  to  give  certain  orders  and  to  spare 
Blanche.  A  less  sensible  woman,  or  a  woman  who 
was  fond  of  scenes,  would  have  sent  for  the  children. 
Madeline,  on  the  contrary,  kept  them  away,  as  she  did 
not  wish  to  weaken  the  impression  then  stronger  in  the 
mind  of  her  friend  than  any  other,  or  than  all  others  — 
that  in  going  away  with  Lucien  she  would  certainly 
have  caused  her  own  death,  if  not  that  of  Lucien. 

The  dinner  hour  approached,  and  just  before  it  was 

announced,  the  sound  of  a  carriage  renewed  all  Made- 

line's anxiety.     Blanche,  who  seemed  in  a  torpor,  did 

not  even  hear  it.     Madeline  ran  out  on  the  terrace  to 

forbid  another  visit  from   Monsieur  de  Fresnes  —  for 

was   certain   this   visitor   could    be    none    other 

......  he. 


A     FRIEND     IN    NEED.  233 

A  carriage  had  driven  lip,  but  it  was  not  the  one 
which  had  been  there  a  few  hours  before.  It  was  a 
little  caleche,  white  with  dust,  and  instead  of  Lucien's 
handsome  head,  Madeline  saw  Mullan's  brown  mous- 
tache emerge  from  under  the  hood. 

"  Is  it  you  !  "  cried  Madeline,  in  great  amazement. 

"Myself!  dear  Madame." 

"And  whence  came  you?  What  a  state  you 
are  in ! " 

"  You  mean  as  regards  dust  ?  It  is  quite  possible. 
I  have  come  by  post  from  Paris." 

A  nervous  twitching  of  the  mouth  disturbed  Mul- 
lan's moustache.  He  shook  himself  violently  before 
he  ascended  the  steps. 

"A  hundred  and  ten  leagues,"  he  said,  "justifies  a 
little  dust.  Who  is  at  the  chateau  ?  " 

"No  one." 

" Is  Madame  de  Dreux  at  home?" 

"  Of  course,"  answered  Madeline,  who  began  to  feel 
a  little  nervous. 

"  Ah !  I  am  delighted  to  hear  it.  My  friend,  De 
Dreux,  is  close  at  my  heels.  I  was  a  few  hours  in 
advance  when  I  left  Paris,  but  I  lost  them,  and  down 
below  in  the  valley  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  his  carriage. 
But  my  horses  are  good,  and  I  drove  at  full  speed." 

By  this  time  they  were  in  the  small  salon,  and  there 
Mullan  stopped  short,  and  taking  Madeline's  hand,  he 
said,  looking  her  full  in  the  eyes : 

"  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  ?  " 

"  He  started  to-day,  about  two  o'clock,  on  a  long 


234  A    FRIEND    IN    NEED. 

journey.  He  paid  Madame  de  Dreux  a  farewell  visit, 
at  which  I  was  present." 

"  Has  he  gone  then  ?    Gone  for  good  ?  " 

"  Most  certainly  ! " 

Mullan  passed  his  hand  over  his  brow. 

"I  am  thankful,"  he  said,  in  a  less  excited  tone.  "It 
was  not  precisely  for  my  own  amusement  that  I  have 
run  this  race  with  De  Dreux ;  you  may  readily  believe 
this." 

He  dropped  the  hand  of  Madame  Lecomte,  which 
during  this  dialogue  he  had  pressed  so  strongly  that 
he  hurt  her,  without  either  of  them  perceiving  it. 

"  She  will  certainly  be  surprised,"  he  said,  without 
naming  Blanche,  "but  she  ought  to  be  warned.  Guy, 
as  I  told  you,  is  only  an  hour  behind  me — perhaps 
even  less." 

They  entered  the  salon,  the  doors  of  which  Made- 
line opened  after  Lucien's  departure. 

Blanche  rose,  and  stood  petrified. 

"  Mullan ! "  she  exclaimed. 

"  Yes,  Mullan,  and  I  precede  your  husband — " 

"  My  husband  ?  "  said  Blanche,  "  my  husband !  is  he 
coming  here  ?  " 

"Yes,  within  an  hour.  The  notion  took  him  night 
before  last.  Where  he  had  been,  I  know  not.  He 
came  and  told  me  of  his  intention.  As  soon  as  he  left 
me,  I  started  without  waiting  for  morning." 

Blanche  looked  earnestly  at  him.  Suddenly  she 
snatched  his  arm. 

"I  am  suspected — accused?"  she  said,  between  her 
teeth. 


A    FRIEND    IN    NEED.  235 

Mullan  shrugged  his  shoulders.  The  fingers  of 
Madame  de  Dreux  tightened  their  grasp. 

"  Lazy  people,"  he  said,  with  a  faint  smile,  "  lazy 
people,  you  know,  talk  too  much — laziness  is  the  root 
of  all  vices." 

"  This  is  no  time  for  such  idle  jests,"  said  Madame 
de  Dreux,  looking  at  him  with  eyes  flashing  with 
anger.  "  He  has  been  told  that  Monsieur  de  Fresnes 
was  here  ?  " 

"  Yes,  said  Mullan,  instantly  deciding  on  his  course. 

"  And  are  you  not  ashamed,"  she  said,  "  to  come, 
you  two  men,  to  spy  upon  me  in  this  way  ?  " 

He  interrupted  her  with  a  somewhat  peremptory 
gesture.  She  loosened  her  grasp,  and  stood  silent 
before  him. 

"  We  did  not  come  to  watch  you,  dear  Madame," 
said  he.  "  Guy  came  in  hot  haste  to  kill  Monsieur 
de  Fresnes,  and  I  preceded  him  to  spare  him  that 
trouble,  by  doing  it  myself,  if  it  were  needful." 

He  hesitated,  and  abandoning  the  half-sarcastic, 
half-jesting  tone,  which  was  habitual  to  him,  he  added, 
slowly : 

"  I  was  desirous,  if  possible,  to  avoid  a  catastrophe 
which  was  to  be  deplored  in  every  point  of  view!" 

Blanche,  greatly  humiliated,  durst  not  lift  her  eyes 
before  this  friend  and  guardian — Madeline  had  dis- 
appeared. 

"  I  was  ready,"  he  continued,  "  to  do  this  or  any- 
thing else  for  you.  To  serve  you  is  always  a  joy  to 
me.  I  am  glad  to  see  that  the  motives,  the  dismal 


236  A    FRIEND    IN    NEED. 

fears,  which  led  me  to  undertake  so  long  a  journey, 
were  the  merest  chimeras." 

"You  are  mistaken!"  said  Blanche,  throwing  back 
her  head  haughtily.  "  I  love  Monsieur  de  Fresnes." 

"I  know  it,"  answered  her  friend,  "and  I  knew  it 
before  you  yourself  did.  Only  let  me  advise  you  not 
to  say  as  much  to  Guy ;  he  would  not  appreciate  the 
chivalric  grandeur  of  such  an  avowal.  So  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  it  is  a  different  thing.  I  am  the  friend  of 
bad  days — I  can  understand  everything,  hear  every- 
thing, and  admire  everything."  He  added,  in  a  low 
voice :  "  He  is  not  coming  back,  is  he  ?  " 

Blanche  shook  her  head. 

"You  are  a  noble  woman !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  No,"  answered  Blanche,  "  I  am  not,  but,"  pointing 
to  Madeline,  who  at  that  moment  entered,  "but 
she  is ! " 


GUY    ARRIVES.  237 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

GUY     ARRIVES. 

AN  hour  later,  the  great  caliche  of  Monsieur  de 
Dreux  rolled  noisily  into  the  court-yard.  The 
servants,  who  had  been  forewarned,  ran  to  meet  their 
master,  and  Guy,  with  a  cloudy  and  frowning  brow, 
passed  through  their  lines  without  realizing  that  this 
welcome  indicated  more  anxiety  than  surprise. 

Guy  was  deep  in  perplexing  thought.  Two  hours 
previously  he  had  met  the  caleche  of  Monsieur  de 
Fresnes.  That  gentleman  had  favored  him  with  a 
polite  salutation.  This  chance  meeting  seemed  to 
complicate  matters,  and  he  felt  that  he  had  stumbled 
into  an  abyss  of  perplexities. 

"  Where  is  Madame  ?  "  he  asked  of  a  servant. 

"In  the  dining-room,  sir;  they  are  at  dinner," 
answered  the  man,  respectfully. 

They  were  dining  at  Mesnil — yes,  precisely  as  if  the 
day  had  not  been  full  of  terrific  storms.  Monsieur  de 
Dreux  went  to  the  dining-room,  from  the  open  doors 
of  which  came  odors  that  told  of  good  cheer,  and 
sitting  in  the  full  blaze  of  the  lamp  he  saw  Mullan. 

Guy  did  not  believe  in  ghosts,  and  yet  he  stood  pet- 
rified. He  had  left  Mullan  forty-eight  hours  before  in 
a  comfortable  smoking-room  in  Paris,  where  he  had 
heard  much  good  advice. 


238  GUY     ARRIVES. 

"  Good  evening,"  said  his  friend,  as  he  replaced  on 
the  table  the  glass  which  he  had  just  emptied. 

The  servants  placed  a  chair  at  the  table.  Guy 
seated  himself,  and  mechanically  unfolded  his  napkin, 
which  was  arranged  in  advance  for  him.  He  looked 
around  the  table.  Everything  seemed  much  as  usual. 
There  were,  to  be  sure,  dark  circles  around  the  eyes  of 
Blanche,  while  those  of  Madeline  were  extraordinarily 
brilliant.  Mullan  had  an  odd  little  expression,  which 
reminded  one  of  a  cat  mischievously  playing  with  a 
spool  of  cotton.  A  plate  of  hot  soup  was  placed  in 
front  of  Monsieur  de  Dreux.  All  at  once  Guy  seemed 
to  realize  the  rudeness  of  which  he  was  guilty.  He 
rose  from  his  chair  with  some  precipitation. 

"  Pray  forgive  me,"  he  said.  "  The  rapidity  of  my 
journey  has  fairly  stunned  me.  I  have  forgotten 
everything." 

He  made  the  tour  of  the  table  with  considerable 
grace — he  kissed  the  hand  of  each  of  the  two  ladies, 
and  shook  that  of  Mullan — after  which  ceremony  he 
seated  himself,  and  looking  around  the  table  said 
aloud : 

"It  is  your  presence,  Mullan,  which  so  astonishes 
me.  I  believed  you  to  be  in  Paris  at  this  moment. 
How  happens  it  that  you  are  here  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  most  simple  matter !  "  answered  his  friend. 
"  When  you  told  me  the  other  night  that  you  were 
coming,  I  laid  a  wager  with  myself  that  I  would  arrive 
at  Mesnil  before  you.  I  have  won  my  bet,  you  see, 
but  only  by  a  half  hour,  I  regret  to  say." 


GUY    ARRIVES.  239 

Guy,  considerably  vexed  at  having  no  reason  for 
anger,  swallowed  his  soup  without  another  word.  No 
one  wished  to  talk — not  even  Mullan,  who  thought  the 
situation  irresistibly  comic.  After  the  anxiety  of  his 
hurried  journey,  wherein  he  had  spared  neither  him- 
self nor  his  horses,  the  presence  of  his  friend  at  this 
table,  waited  upon  by  assiduous  and  solemn  servants, 
inspired  him  with  a  mad  desire  to  laugh  aloud,  and  all 
the  more  when  he  thought  of  Monsieur  de  Fresnes 
travelling  post  haste  to  Paris  all  alone. 

Alone  !     Oh,  what  joy ! 

At  this  moment  everything  was  couleur  de  rose  to 
this  young  man,  who,  in  thinking  over  his  own 
promptness  and  energy  in  this  matter,  could  with  diffi- 
culty refrain  from  showing  the  satisfaction  he  felt. 

Guy  could  not  recover  as  easily  from  the  shock  he 
had  experienced  at  this  unexpected  result.  When  a 
man  hurries  away  from  Paris,  with  the  intention  of 
killing  some  one  at  the  end  of  his  journey,  and  instead 
assists  at  a  great  family  dinner ;  when,  too,  as  a  finish- 
ing touch,  a  man  sees  with  his  own  eyes  his  enemy 
voluntarily  turning  his  back  on  the  place  where  he 
was  to  be  driven  forth,  there  is  something  extremely 
discomforting  in  such  a  termination. 

When  dinner  was  over,  Mullan  drew  from  his  pocket 
a  case  of  delicious  cigars.  After  selecting  one,  he 
handed  the  case  to  his  friend. 

"  You  went  off  so  hurriedly,"  he  said,  "  that  I  am 
quite  certain  you  forgot  to  take  any  cigars." 

Monsieur  de   Dreux   accepted   the   civility  with  a 


240  GUY    ARRIVES. 

sulky  air.  The  two  men  went  out  on  the  terrace,  the 
night  was  very  dark,  and  the  lighthouse  shone  against 
the  horizon  in  alternate  brightness  and  obscurity. 

"  Will  you  kindly  explain  to  me,"  said  the  Deputy, 
"the  meaning  of  this  journey  of  yours?  I  do  not 
care  to  be  laughed  at — " 

"Never  mind  that,"  answered  Mullan,  passing  his 
arm  through  that  of  Monsieur  de  Dreux.  "I  came 
that  I  might  laugh  a  little  at  you,  and  I  am  quite  sure 
that  you  are  too  much  a  friend  of  mine  to  refuse  me 
this  innocent  pleasure.  I  saw  you  day  before  yester- 
day armed  to  the  teeth,  ready  to  fight  any  windmills 
which  you  might  chance  to  see.  I  was  frightened  out 
of  my  wits,  not  for  the  windmills,  but  for  you.  You 
know  that  as  a  rule  it  is  not  the  windmills  which  suffer 
in  such  encounters.  I  came  to  prevent  you  from 
making  yourself  ridiculous,  and  perhaps  worse." 

Guy  attempted  to  shake  off  his  friend's  arm. 

"Why  did  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  come  here?"  he 
asked. 

"Probably  to  procure  some  papers  from  his  own 
house.  I  can  think  of  no  other  reason  to  explain  his 
sudden  arrival  and  equally  sudden  departure." 

"  He  loves  my  wife — of  that  I  am  sure,"  said  Guy. 

"It  is  some  woman  who  has  put  that  notion  into 
your  head,"  Mullan  replied. 

"  What  does  that  matter,  so  long  as  it  is  true  ? " 
answered  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  with  some  irritation. 

"  What  does  it  matter  if  it  be  true  and  if  your  wife 


GUY     ARRIVES.  241 

does   not  love  him?    If  she  loved  him,  he  certainly 
would  not  have  left  here  as  he  did  four  hours  ago." 

"  I  met  him,"  said  Guy,  artlessly. 

Mullan  dropped  his  friend's  arm,  and  lifted  his 
hands  to  Heaven. 

"What  candor.  What  divine  simplicity !  You  met 
him  on  his  way  to  Paris,  which  proves  to  you,  of 
course,  that  he  and  your  wife  intend  to  betray  you ! 
It  strikes  me  that  if  such  were  the  case  the  gentleman 
would  have  remained  here,  where  no  one  surely  had 
the  smallest  expectation  of  seeing  you.  Do  you  sup- 
pose I  warned  him,  and  sent  him  off?" 

"  No,"  said  Guy  ;  "  }rou  did  not  get  here  soon  enough 
for  that.  I  thought  it  all  out." 

"You  think  of  everything!"  said  Mullan,  in  a  tone 
of  intense  admiration.  "  But  let  me  beg  of  you  not  to 
apologize  to  your  wife,  for  she  would  never  forgive 
your  suspicions." 

"But  why  should  I  not  apologize?"  asked  Guy. 
"Why  should  I  blush  to  excuse  myself?  I  should 
certainly  have  killed  this  man  if  I  had  found  him  here, 
and  I  see  no  harm  in  telling  her  so.' 

Mullan  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Man  is  naturally  blind  and  deaf;  but  when  he  is  a 
Deputy,  the  votes  of  his  constituents  finish  the  work, 
and  render  him  absolutely  incapable  of  judgment. 
Can  not  you  see  how  much  better  it  would  be  could 
Madame  de  Dreux  pretend  to  be  ignorant  of  your 
suspicions.  It  would  be  infinitely  more  delicate  on 
your  part  than  to  tell  her  what  you  have  been  fool- 
15 


242  GUY    ARRIVES. 

ish  enough  to  imagine.  This  would  be  an  offence 
which  she  would  never  forgive,  and  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  your  conjugal  list  is  already  quite  long 
enough." 

"  You  really  think  so  ?  "  said  De  Dreux,  somewhat 
troubled. 

"  Certainly — only,  my  dear  friend,  do  not  do  this 
thing.  I  assure  you  that  I,  for  one,  don't  like  such 
explanations." 

"  Nor  I,  either ! "  answered  Guy,  with  a  sigh. 

After  a  long  silence,  he  added, 

"  What,  then,  shall  I  say  to  Blanche  in  explanation 
of  my  arrival  ?  " 

"  Tell  her  that  it  was  too  warm  in  Paris ;  that  the 
air  did  not  agree  with  you,  now  that  the  spring  has 
really  come  in.  That  will  do.  I  will  see  that  she 
asks  you  no  questions." 

De  Dreux,  reconciled  with  Mullan,  with  Monsieur 
de  Fresnes  and  with  life,  would  have  liked,  also  to  be 
reconciled  with  his  wife ;  but  the  time  for  reconcilia- 
tion and  armistices  was  over,  and  he  felt  that  under 
the  kind  manner  of  Blanche  was  concealed  so  firm  a 
determination  to  keep  him  at  a  distance,  that  in  a 
fortnight  he  returned  to  Paris. 


SELF-KNOWLEDGE.  248 

p 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 

flPHE  summer  took  its  course,  and  le  Mesnil  was 
JL  crowded,  as  usual,  with  visitors.  Monsieur  de 
Grosmont  came  to  pay  his  annual  visit  to  his  ward, 
and  complimented  her  on  the  generous  conduct  of  her 
husband  in  the  De  Fresnes  affair. 

At  this  name  Blanche  frowned,  which  her  ex- 
guardian  seeing,  hastened  to  add: 

"  I  regret,  rny  dear  child,  that  you  have  never  ren- 
dered justice  to  the  merits  of  this  great  statesman,  who 
is,  beside,  one  of  the  most  amiable  men  in  the  world. 
Your  coldness  toward  him  has  always  been  a  thorn  in 
the  side  of  your  husband,  and  a  hindrance  to  his  politi- 
cal advancement.  Now,  of  course,  it  does  not  so  much 
matter,  as  it  is  certainly  to  diplomacy  that  Monsieur 
de  Fresnes  intends  to  devote  his  life,  and  in  this  cause 
he  could  not,  were  he  ever  so  much  inclined,  be  of 
much  service  to  your  husband." 

Blanche  listened  to  this  discourse  without  flinching. 
She  had  ceased  to  be  astonished  at  anything.  The 
Comtesse  Praxis  arrived  to  spend  two  months,  decla- 
ring that  she  came  in  pursuit  of  Mullan,  who  had 
left  Paris  in  such  haste,  that  she  could  not  obtain  a 
substitute  for  a  whole  week,  and  so  lost  her  bezique. 

She  was  a  clear,  sharp-sighted  woman,  and  her  old 


244  SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 

heart  had  ached  many  a  time  for  Blanche.  Many  an 
anxious  hour  had  she  passed  in  thinking  over  the 
snares  and  possible  temptations  in  the  path  of  her 
young  friend.  The  only  man,  however,  in  their  circle, 
on  whom  her  suspicions  had  not  momentarily  fallen 
was  precisely  Monsieur  de  Fresnes.  The  honor  of 
Madame  de  Dreux  was  now  safe,  the  two  friends  who 
held  her  secret,  Madeline  and  Mullan,  feigned  to  for- 
get it,  and  she  soon  lifted  her  head  and  carried  it  as 
proudly  as  ever ;  in  her  heart,  however,  she  was  bit- 
terly humiliated  and  crushed.  The  quality  which  she 
had  always  greatly  lacked  was  indulgence  and  charitj' 
for  sinners. 

She  had  in  past  days  felt  so  keen  a  sense  of  her 
superiority  over  other  women,  that  she  kept  them  at 
a  distance,  treating  them,  in  fact,  as  if  they  were 
beings  of  an  inferior  order.  The  approach  of  danger, 
the  consciousness  that  but  for  Madame  Lecomte  she 
would  have  fallen  into  an  abyss  which  she  once  would 
have  thought  it  impossible  that  her  feet  could  ever 
lead  her,  inspired  her  with  a  tender  pity  for  those  who 
had  yielded.  It  was  in  vain  that  she  said  to  herself 
that  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  was  very  different  from  other 
men ;  she  was  too  conscientious  to  accept  such  shallow 
reasoning,  and  she  was  compelled  to  admit  to  herself 
that  if  her  error  had  not  become  a  crime,  it  was  simply 
because  Madeline  had  stood  between  her  and  the  gulf. 

There  was,  then,  at  least,  one  woman  who  was  her 
superior;  one  woman,  too,  who  had  never  prided  her- 
self on  her  superiority,  and  who  was  wiser  than 


SELF-KNOWLEDGE.  245 

Blanche,  more  virtuous  and  more  courageous.  This 
\vas  a  great  and  useful  lesson  to  Madame  de  Dreux. 
The  only  Christian  virtue  that  she  lacked,  that  of 
Humility,  now  entered  her  repentant  soul  and  caused 
her  thenceforward  to  be  very  gentle  to  those  who  fell 
in  the  battle  of  Life. 

With  the  autumn  came  the  anniversary  of  the  tem- 
pest in  which  Gerard  perished.  Accompanied  by  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  village,  the  two  women  assisted 
at  a  funeral  mass,  and  when  the  cemetery  was  again 
deserted  and  left  to  its  calm  and  peaceful  solitude, 
they  turned  toward  the  grave. 

Roses  had  wandered  all  over  it,  and  pale  pink 
blossoms  half-concealed  the  name  of  the  }roung  hero. 

"  You  see,"  said  Madeline,  "  I  at  first  believed  that 
every  hope  and  light  of  life  lay  buried  there.  I  was 
utterly  wretched,  and  Death  would  have  been  most 
gladly  welcomed.  When  I  read  the  words  he  had 
written,  I  saw  that  I  understood  them,  and  that  it  was 
possible  for  me  to  make  others  do  the  same,  and  then  I 
realized  that  my  husband  was  not  altogether  lost  to 
me  and  to  the  world.  He  lives  still  in  his  works — he 
speaks  to  me  all  the  time  that  I  sit  at  his  desk,  and 
the  thought  that  through  me  his  great  ambition  will 
be  fulfilled,  has  inspired  me  with  a  desire  to  live. 
To  arrive  at  the  end  which  I  now  propose  to  myself,  I 
have  much  to  learn,  much  work  to  do.  I  am  very 
ignorant,  but  I  can  do  it.  I  can  learn  all  that  I  ought 
to  know.  Will  you  believe  me  when  I  tell  you  that  I 
am  now  haunted  by  one  fear,  that  of  dying  before  I 


246  SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 

have  finished  my  self-appointed  task — before  I  have 
published  these  two  volumes,  which  are  Gerard's  very 
self?" 

Blanche  pressed  her  friend's  hand. 

"  I  understand  you,"  she  said,  "  and  in  spite  of  your 
great  sorrow,  I  feel  that  life  has  still  in  store  for  you 
great  joys.  Ah  !  "  she  added,  with  a  sigh,  "  my  exist- 
ence has  no  such  noble  aim  and  no  such  consolations. 
My  dream  has  perished — Madeline,  what  Future  have 
I  a  right  to  expect  ?  " 

"  Do  like  me,  work,"  answered  Madame  Lecomte. 
They  slowly  returned  to  the  chateau.  Blanche  was 
deep  in  thought.  After  a  long  silence,  she  turned  to 
her  friend : 

14  Yes,  you  are  right,"  she  said.  "  Work  might  now 
be  my  salvation.  But  I  have  organized  my  life  in 
such  a  fashion  that  it  is  impossible  to  work  for  myself. 
If  the  day  should  ever  come  when  I  should  issue 
some  work,  scientific  or  political,  or  merely  one  of 
light  literature,  if  it  were  worthy  of  attention  and 
attracted  it,  all  that  I  have  done  in  the  last  ten 
years  to  persuade  the  world  that  my  husband  is 
an  eagle,  would  become  utterly  useless.  I  have  no 
right  to  inflict  this  humiliation  on  Guy.  He  is  not 
unkind  to  me,  not  wilfully  so,  I  mean;  he  loves  me 
after  his  own  fashion  ;  it  is  not  his  fault  that  he  is  not 
the  eagle  he  is  supposed  to  be ;  it  is  mine.  It  would 
be  a  most  gratuitous  piece  of  hatefulness  to  precipitate 
him  from  the  empyrean  in  which  he  now  soars. 

"  I  have  placed  him  there ;  there  he  must  remain. 


SELF-KNOWLEDGE.  247 

It  does  not  please  me,  after  all,  to  tell  the  world  that 
ten  years  ago  I  committed,  in  marrying,  the  most 
common  mistake,  and  also  the  most  terrible  one  that 
can  fall  to  a  woman's  lot. 

"  I  do  not  choose  to  admit  that  my  intelligence 
and  my  education  were  not  sufficient  to  prevent  me 
from  marrying  a  man  only  because  he  was  handsome, 
because  he  talked  with  agreeable  fluency,  and  had 
excellent  manners.  This  would  be  to  me  a  most  cruel 
humiliation.  Guy  now  passes  for  a  man  of  superior 
ability,  and  he  must  preserve  this  reputation  to  the 
end/ 

"And  if  you  die  before  him?"  said  Madeline. 

Blanche  smiled  with  infinite  sweetness. 

"  They  will  only  say  that  his  grief  for  me  is  so  great 
that  he  is  not  himself,  that  he  is  incapable  of  exertion," 
she  replied.  "You  are  astonished  I  see.  You  did  not 
think  me  capable  of  such  kindly  sentiments  toward 
ray  husband?  I  have  questioned  myself,  and  feel 
thoroughly  how  guilty  I  am  in  regard  to  him.  Society 
so  readily  pardons  a  man's  sins,  that  it  would  be  folly 
on  my  part  to  exact  from  a  man  who  has  no  higher 
idea  of  right  and  wrong  than  the  laws  of  the  world  in 
which  he  has  been  educated,  a  propriety  of  conduct 
which  would  make  him  almost  ridiculous.  Some  men, 
I  believe,  have  but  one  love  in  their  lives.  Your  hus- 
band was  one  of  these.  Such  men  are  most  fortunate, 
and  much  to  be  envied,  but  few  are  capable  of  imita- 
ting them.  My  poor  husband  was,  therefore,  perfectly 
right  according  to  his  light,  when  he  came  post  haste 


248  SFLF-KXOWI.EDGK. 

from  Paris  to  kill  the  man  whom  he  supposed  on  cer- 
tain terms  of  intimacy  with  me.  It  was  not  he  who 
did  this,  it  was  the  man  who  has  been  fashioned  by  the 
world,  and  I  understand  it  perfectly." 

After  a  long  silence,  she  began  : 

"  I  am  guilty  toward  him.  You  remember  that  I 
really  believed  for  a  time  that  he  closed  his  eyes  to  all 
that  he  did  not  care  to  see.  You  know,  and  I  now 
know,  that  my  suspicion  was  unjust.  I  owe  him,  there- 
fore, some  compensation,  and  I  shall  pay  my  debt  in 
full." 

They  had  reached  the  chateau  by  this  time,  and 
stopped  before  the  long  windows  leading  into  the 
salon. 

"  I  neither  ask  nor  expect  happiness  in  this  world," 
continued  Madame  de  Dreux.  "It  deserted  me  when 
the  man  I  loved  left  that  room,  never  to  return.  You 
go  to  a  grave  and  there  weep  for  your  husband ;  I 
come  here  and  feel  that  I  must  kneel  on  that  very 
spot,  and  weep  tears  of  agony.  He  came  to  me  like  an 
angel  to  a  prisoner,  bringing  a  hope  of  freedom.  But 
have  no  fear,  Madeline.  My  life  lies  plain  before  me 
now,  as  do  my  duties.  My  resolution  is  taken,  and  I 
shall  not  waver." 

Madame  de  Dreux  appeared  in  the  world  more 
beautiful  and  more  brilliant  than  ever. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes,  who  had  spent  but  a  few 
hours  in  Paris,  was  far  away  on  a  diplomatic  mission 
of  great  importance  and  delicacy.  The  vague  rumor 
which  had  sent  Monsieur  de  Dreux  in  such  hot  haste 


SELF-KNOWLEDGE.  249 

to  Mesnil,  was  given  the  lie  by  the  presence  in  Paris, 
the  very  next  day,  of  the  young  ambassador,  and  died 
away  as  do  so  many  things  of  a  similar  character. 

Many  exquisite  and  noticeable  fStes  were  given  that 
winter  at  the  Hotel  de  Dreux.  Nothing  that  Blanche 
did  was  commonplace,  and  her  reputation  was  now 
more  firmly  established  than  ever  as  a  woman  of 
infinite  taste. 

Meanwhile,  her  beauty  acquired  a  new  and  more 
touching  charm.  The  tender  compassion  she  had 
learned  to  feel  for  the  errors  of  humanity,  made  itself 
apparent  in  her  words,  and  men  were  irresistibly 
attracted  by  her,  but  all  their  attentions  were  thrown 
away. 

Madame  de  Dreux  moved  cold  and  stately  amid  all 
this  homage.  She  was,  to  be  sure,  less  disdainful  and 
more  gentle  than  before,  but  she  was  equally  inacces- 
sible. 

Mullan  had  voluntarily  relinquished  his  rSle  as 
watch-dog ;  he  knew  that  he  had  nothing  to  guard,  and 
that  this  heart — this  precious  treasure — had  flown  far 
away,  and  was  following  him  who  had  won  it. 

Five  years  later,  one  evening,  Blanche  was  waiting 
for  her  carriage  at  the  opera.  She  was  standing  on 
the  staircase,  surrounded  by  pretty  women  in  charm- 
ing toilettes.  All  were  talking  as  only  people  can  talk 
who  belong  to  the  same  circles  of  society.  Guy  was 
devoting  himself  to  a  fair  young  bride,  who  was  so 
reckless  in  her  conduct  that  she  needed  careful  sur- 
veillance from  her  husband. 


250  SKLF-KNOWLFDGE. 

Blanche  scarcely  heard  the  compliments  addressed 
to  herself  by  a  man  whose  flattery  was  of  the  most 
pointed  description. 

She  looked  around,  nodding  here  and  there.  Sud- 
denh*  she  caught  her  breath,  as  her  eyes  were  arrested 
by  the  profile  of  a  man  on  the  opposite  staircase,  and 
her  heart  began  to  beat  with  all  the  passionate  vehe- 
mence of  those  old  days.  She  had  never  thought  to 
feel  these  fierce  throbbings  again.  She  believed  her 
love  was  dead ;  that  it  had  burnt  itself  out,  and  had 
died  like  a  fire  extinguished  from  want  of  air.  She 
knew  now  how  great  had  been  her  mistake. 

The  man  at  whom  she  was  gazing  with  her  soul  in 
her  eyes,  turned  and  made  her  a  most  respectful  salu- 
tation. She  returned  it,  and  at  the  same  moment, 
involuntarily  took  her  husband's  arm.  Just  then  the 
crowd  below  moved  a  little,  and  she  was  able  to 
descend  a  few  steps. 

"  De  Fresnes !  'r  said  Guy.  looking  across  to  the 
other  staircase.  "Where  on  earth  did  he  come  from? 
No  one  has  seen  him  for  a  whole  century.  Look  at 
him  ;  he  blazes  with  orders.  Upon  my  word,  Blanche, 
he  has  as  many  diamonds  on  his  coat  as  }rou  wear  on 
your  throat." 

The  two  men  exchanged  bows.  If  some  officious 
person  had  then  and  there  reminded  Guy  that  he  had 
driven  one  hundred  and  ten  leagues  to  kill  the  man 
whom  he  now  saw  opposite  him,  he  would  have  been 
greatly  surprised.  As  to  De  Fresnes,  he  of  course  had 
QO  idea  of  this  bellicose  expedition. 


SELF-KNOWLEDGE.  251 

The  ladies  who  were  with  the  diplomatist  descended 
the  stairs,  and  he  followed,  but  with  one  last  look  at 
Madame  de  Dreux. 

Blanche  did  not  sleep  that  night.  A  singular  jeal- 
ousy assailed  her  in  regard  to  the  two  strangers,  with 
Lucien.  She  wondered  who  they  were,  and  what  they 
were  to  him.  She  could  easily  have  discovered,  but 
she  would  not  ask  a  single  question. 

About  twilight,  at  the  hour  when  Monsieur  de  Fres- 
nes  had  been  in  the  habit  of  calling,  she  was  tempted 
to  give  orders  to  the  servant  to  admit  visitors,  but  she 
did  not  dare  to  do  this.  She  remained  in  her  own 
chamber,  where,  seated  near  the  window,  she  could  see 
every  guest  who  approached.  It  was  growing  dark ; 
the  servant  came  out  and  lighted  the  lanterns  on  either 
side  the  entrance. 

Presently  she  saw  a  tall,  elegant  looking  man  ascend 
the  steps.  She  recognized  him  instantly.  He  gave 
his  card  to  the  valet,  and  then  looked  up  with  evident 
uneasiness  at  the  dark  and  silent  windows. 

Blanche  felt  as  if  he  must  have  seen  her  through  the 
curtains,  as  after  one  lingering  glance  he  turned  away. 

"  And  with  you  goes  my  heart,"  said  Blanche  to 
herself;  "my  heart,  my  soul,  my  life  itself!  You  bear 
them  all  with  you,  and  yet  you  know  it  not !  And  I 
thought  I  had  forgotten  you !  Can  a  woman  ever  for- 
get? Can  a  woman  ever  cease  to  suffer?  To  see  him, 
to  spend  one  hour  with  him,  would  be  bliss  itself !  I 
io\e  him ! " 

She  rang  the  bell  violently. 


252  SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 

"Run  after  the  visitor  who  just  left  a  card  here. 
Tell  him  it  was  a  mistake,  and  that  your  mistress  begs 
him  to  return." 

The  woman  who  received  this  order  was  utterly  con- 
founded ;  the  room  was  very  dark,  and  she  could  not 
see  the  agitated  face  of  her  mistress. 

"Go!"  said  Blanche,  peremptorily;  "and  make 
haste." 

The  girl  obeyed.  She  ran  across  the  court-yard,  and 
then  stopped,  undecided.  It  was  cold;  a  fine  rain  had 
begun  to  fall.  She  went  back  to  her  mistress. 

"Madame,  the  gentleman  was  too  far  away,"  she 
said.  "  I  could  see  no  one." 

"Very  well,"  said  Madame  de  Dreux. 

The  woman  went  for  a  light,  and  Blanche  replaced 
in  her  wardrobe  the  shawl,  the  hat,  and  the  purse 
which  she  had  taken  out  after  she  sent  for  Monsieur 
de  Fresnes.  If,  as  five  years  before,  he  had  said  to 
her  "  Let  us  go,"  she  would  have  gone. 

"  I  am  mad ! "  she  said  to  herself,  when  the  room 
flooded  with  light,  restored  her  to  her  senses.  "What 
am  I  to  do,  what  is  to  become  of  me,  if  this  mere 
glimpse  of  him  affects  me  in  this  way?" 

She  wept  her  heart  away — more  for  the  days  that 
were  gone  than  for  the  present;  then,  the  next  day 
appeared  in  the  world  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

Monsieur  de  Fresnes  was  in  Paris  for  a  very  brief 
time,  and  in  a  few  days  she  heard  that  he  had  gone 


THE     END.  253 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

THE     END. 

~V7"EARS  Pass  away;  our  hair  grows  white,  and  in 
_L     the  wear  and  hurry  of  life  we  do  not  realize  that 
old  age  is  upon  us,  unless  children   growing  up  and 
around  us,  mark  the  flight  of  Time. 

Blanche  was  still  beautiful,  Guy  was  still  eloquent 
and  agreeable  ;  but  their  son  Edward  was  twenty- 
seven,  and  about  to  be  married  ;  their  daughter  Claire 
was  a  wife  and  the  mother  of  two  little  girls  who  were 
wonderfully  like  Blanche.  The  Comtesse  Praxis  had 
been  dead  a  long  time.  Madame  Lecomte  had  pub- 
lished her  husband's  works,  and  Paris,  miscalled 
frivolous  and  heartless,  had  not  admiration  enough 
to  lay  at  the  feet  of  the  noble  widow  who  had  conse- 
crated herself  to  the  memory  of  Gerard  Lecomte.  As 
to  Mullan,  he  was  becoming  a  little  gouty,  but  he 
adored  Claire's  children,  and  asked,  he  said,  no  other 
happiness  in  this  world  than  to  be  looked  upon  by 
them  as  a  grandfather. 

One  day  Guy  came  home  far  from  well.  He  had 
never  been  ill  in  his  life,  and  did  not  believe  in  illness, 
and  yet  he  was  now  obliged  to  succumb.  Three  days 
later  his  condition  excited  the  gravest  apprehensions 
in  the  minds  of  his  physicians,  who  felt  it  their  duty 
to  inform  Madame  de  Dreux  of  the  imminence  of  the 
danger. 


254  THE     END 

She  bowed  her  head  with  the  resignation  which  for 
a  long  time  had  been  her  distinguishing  characteristic. 
She  had  always  expected  to  die  before  her  husband, 
and  that  thought  had  been  one  of  the  engrossing 
anxieties  of  her  life.  Guy  had,  as  he  grew  older, 
become  more  obstinate  and  more  and  more  satisfied 
with  himself;  more  than  once  had  Blanche  found  it 
very  difficult  to  prevent  her  husband  from  committing 
some  frightful  blunder,  and  the  political  troubles  since 
1847  had  in  a  great  measure  contributed  to  disturb 
and  unsettle  more  solid  heads  than  that  of  Monsieur 
de  Dreux. 

She  was,  nevertheless,  attached  to  her  husband,  in 
spite  of  all  his  errors.  She  had  become  accustomed  to 
him,  and  he  was  the  father  of  her  two  children  who 
had  never,  in  their  lives,  heard  one  word  of  dissension 
between  their  parents. 

Blanche,  who  had  a  great  regard  for  the  duties  of 
parents  toward  their  children,  felt  that  entire  union 
between  husband  and  wife,  if  only  in  appearance,  is 
the  first  and  only  ground  for  filial  respect.  Therefore, 
whatever  might  be  the  real  differences  between  her- 
self and  Monsieur  de  Dreux,  she  took  care  to  conceal 
them  from  the  world,  and  more  especially  from  her 
children.  Consequently,  they  were  always  respectful 
to  their  father,  while  of  their  love  for  herself  she  was 
sure. 

By  the  bedside  of  this  man  she  watched  accordingly 
with  sincere  affection,  although  'he  had  made  her  life 
one  of  constant  abnegation  and  sacrifice.  Blanche 


THE     END.  255 

had  no  other  sentiments  toward  him  now  than  those 
natural  to  the  most  faithful  and  devoted  of  wives. 

During  his  illness,  which  was  brief,  she  answered 
all  notes  and  found  time  to  thank  every  one  for 
flattering  interest  and  attentions.  When  she  heard 
allusions  made  to  the  loss  to  his  country,  of  this  intel- 
ligent and  loyal  man,  she  was  able  to  reply  with  dig- 
nity and  calmness,  and  never  by  word  or  look  betrayed 
her  consciousness  of  the  inanity  of  this  much  vaunted 
nature. 

From  her  children,  who  were  plunged  into  deep 
grief  by  the  thought  of  losing  such  a  father,  she  was 
able  to  conceal  the  dismal  fact  that  this  father  had 
never  troubled  himself  in  any  way  about  their  educa- 
tion nor  settlement  in  life,  and  that  she  alone  had 
borne  all  the  burthen. 

To  the  Notary  who,  called  to  the  sick  bed,  praised 
the  admirable  rendering  of  Guy's  will,  which  he  said 
was  so  clearly  expressed  that  it  was  impossible  for 
any  mistake  to  be  made,  she  did  not  say  that  this 
will  was  her  work  and  not  her  husband's;  that  certain 
portions  had  cost  her  weeks  and  sometimes  months  of 
painful  discussion  with  Guy. 

Thus,  up  to  the  last  hour  of  her  husband's  life,  she 
maintained  her  falsehood,  and  he  continued  to  pass  for 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  time. 

Guy  passed  away  without  suffering,  as  unconscious 
of  the  solicitude  of  his  wife  until  he  drew  his  last 
breath,  as  he  had  been  of  her  watchful  care  during  so 
many  years.  He  had  not  time  to  thank  her.  Would 


256  THK     END. 

he  have  done  so,  if  he  had  had  time?  It  is  by  no 
means  certain. 

The  funeral  ceremonies  were  very  imposing,  as 
becomes  great  men.  When  the  hearse  left  the  door, 
Blanche,  whom  etiquette  commanded  to  remain  under 
her  own  roof,  slowly  walked  through  the  vast  rooms 
where  her  life  had  been  passed— her  life  so  free  in 
appearance,  so  cloistered  in  reality — by  the  necessity 
of  bearing  the  weight  of  this  stupendous  imposture. 

Laying  aside  the  thought  of  him  who  had  just  been 
borne  from  her  house,  and  to  whom  at  that  moment 
the  church  and  the  world  were  paying  the  most  bril- 
liant homage,  she  thought  of  herself.  Since  the  day 
when  she  had  bestowed  on  Monsieur  de  Dreux  her 
fortune  and  herself,  she  felt  that  she  had  done  all  in 
her  power  for  him,  "  and  now !  *'  she  sighed,  "  now  I 
am  free !  I  can  be  myself  and  act  in  my  own  name. 
I  can  at  least  live  without  lying !  " 

She  drew  a  long  breath.  It  seemed  to  her  that  a 
new  Blanche  was  born — a  Blanche  who  would  be  a 
personality,  who  might  be  permitted  to  act  out  her 
own  ideas. 

She  spent  two  hours  in  this  singular  state,  which 
was  a  kind  of  intoxication  similar  to  that  felt  by  per- 
sons restored  to  liberty  when  age  and  long  captivity 
have  tempered  the  hot  impulses  of  their  youth. 

A  noise  of  carriages  rolling  up  to  the  door  aroused 
her  from  her  brief  stupor.  She  rose  from  her  chair 
and  went  forward  to  meet  the  son  who  was  to  bring 
her  the  last  news  of  her  husband. 


THE     END.  257 

"Dear  mother,"  said  Edward,  tenderly;  "we  know 
what  you  have  lost ;  we  know  how  superior  our  father 
was  to  all  other  men.  We  will  love  you  enough  to 
induce  you  to  forget  how  immeasurably  we  are  his 
inferiors." 

"  We  will  talk  of  my  father  every  day,"  said  Claire. 
"  You  will  tell  us  of  his  noble  life,  of  his  great  works, 
and  of  all  that  this  great  man  and  good  citizen  did." 

With  the  arms  of  her  children  around  her,  Blanche 
felt  all  her  plans  for  her  future  crumble  into  dust. 
How  could  she  show  her  own  superiority  now,  without 
causing  the  world  to  suspect  the  truth.  Would  not  it 
be  at  once  seen  by  her  children  that  it  was  she  who 
had  toiled  for  their  welfare?  No,  their  respect  for  his 
memory  must  remain  unrtimmisned. 

"  Yes.  my  children,"  she  said,  "  we  will  talk  of  him 
daily,  in  order  to  make  even  stronger  the  veneration 
and  love  you  now  feel  for  his  memory." 

Madame  de  Dreux  contented  herself,  therefore,  with 
being  an  irreproachable  woman  and  an  adorable 
grandmother.  Among  the  habitue's  of  her  house  there 
were  often  allusions  made  to  the  merits  of  her  dead 
husband.  A  faint  smile  quivered  on  the  lips  of  Mul- 
lan  and  Madeline,  who  exchanged  a  look,  but  Blanche 
seemed  perfectly  unconscious. 

The  first  time  she  returned  to  Paris,  after  Guy's 
death,  Monsieur  de  Fresnes  made  her  a  formal  offer  of 
his  hand. 

"  We  are  too  old,"  she  said  ;  "  my  hair  is  gray ;  my 
children  would  accuse  me  of  lacking  respect  for  the 
16 


258  THE    END. 

memory  of  their  father.     Let  us  remain  friends ;   it 
will  be  less  ridiculous." 

They  are  friends,  but  they  see  each  other  rarely ; 
they  fear,  old  as  they  are,  that  they  would  suffer  too 
much  were  they  to  meet  too  often. 


THE   END. 


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Rancy   Cottem's   Courtship.     By  author  of  "  Major  Jones's   Courtship." 
Fnther  Tom  and  the  Pope;  or,  A  Night  at  the  Vatican.     Illustrated. 
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The  Red   Hill  Tragedy.     By  Mrs.  Emma  D.  E.  N.  Southworth. 
The  American  L'Assommoir.     A  parody  on  Zola's  "  L'Assoiumoir." 
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Madame  Pompadour's  Qurter.     A  Romance  of  the  Reign  of  Louis  XV. 
That  Girl  of  Mine.     By  the  author  of  "  That  Lover  of  Mine." 
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/I       UUU1IJLIJLJL    M       JJV  I  U        kJiVJ.lJ.JJUl 

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LINDSAY'S  LUCK.     A  Love  Story.     By  Mrs.  Frances  Hodgson 
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A    QUIET     LIFE;     and     THE     TIDE     ON     THE 
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MISS    CRESPIGNY.      A    Powerful   Love   Story.      By  Mrs. 
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PRETTY    POLLY    PEMBERTON.      A   Charming  Lovo 
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THE   NOVEL   OF  THE  YEAR. 

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SELF-RAISED;  or,  From  the  Depths.     The  Sequel  to  "Ishmaer." 
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I  BEAUTIFUL   REND;  or,    THROUGH  THE  FIRE. 
THE  LAD*  OF  THE  ISLE;   or,    THE  ISLAND  PRINCESS. 
FAIR  PLAY;    or,  BRITOMARTE,    THE    MAN-HATER. 
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CRUEL  AS  THE  GRAVE;   or,  Hallow  Eve  Mystery. 
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THE  CHRISTMAS  GUEST;   or,  The  Crime  and  the  Curse. 
THE  LOST  HEIR  OF   LINLITHGOW;    or,  The  Brothers. 

A  NOBLE  LORD.      The  Sequel  to  "The  lost  Heir  of  Linlithgow." 
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FALLEN  PRIDE;  or,  THE   MOUNTAIN  GIRL'S  LOVE. 
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THE  PRINCE  OF  DARKNESS;    or,  HICKORY  HALL. 
THE   TWO   SISTERS;   OP,    Virginia  and   Magdalene. 
THE   FATAL   MARRIAGE;    or,    ORVILLE   DEVILLE. 

WDIA;   or,  THE  PEARL  OF   PEARL  RIVER.  THE  CURSE  Of  CLIFTON 

THE   WIDOW'S   SON;    or,   LEFT    ALONE.  THE  WIFE'S  VICTORY 

THE   MYSTERY   OF    DARK    HOLLOW.  THE  SPECTRE  LOVER. 

ALLWORTH  ABBEY;   or,  EUDORA,  THE  ARTISTS  LOVE. 

THE  BRIDAL   EVE;    or,    ROSE    ELMER.  THE  FATAL  SECRET. 

VIVIA;   or,  THE  SECRET  OF  POWER.  LOVE'S  LABOR  WON. 

THE  HAUNTED   HOMESTEAD.  THE  LOST  HEIRESS. 

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Emile  Zola's  Greatest  Works. 

NANA  AND  L'ASSOMMOIR. 


AUTHOR   OP   "THE    LADIES'    PARADISE,"    "IN   THE   WHIRLPOOL,"    "THE   GIRL   IK   SCARLET,"* 

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LIST  OF  EMILE  ZOLA'S  GREAT  WORKS. 

Translated  by  John  Stirling,  and  Unabridged. 

The  Ladies'  Paradise!  This  is  the  striking  title,  in  English,  given  by  Emile  Zola  to  hit 
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Her  Two  Husbands!  and  Other  Novelettes!  By  Emile  Zola,  author  ol  "Nana," 
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Pot-Itonille.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana,"  "L'Assommoir,"  etc  Pot-Bonille. 
With  an  Illustrated  Cover  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  $i  25  m  Cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

The  Girl  in  Scarlet;  or,  The  Loves  of  Silvere  and  Mit-tte.  By  Emile  Zola, 
author  at  "M***,"  and  "  L'  Assommoir  "  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  $i  25  in  Cloth. 

The  Mysteries  of  the  Court  of  Louis  Napoleon.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of 
"Nana  "  and  "  L'  Assommoir."  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  $1.25  in  Cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

La  Belle  Lisa;  or,  The  Paris  Market  Girls.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana," 
and  "L'Assommoir  "  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  $1.25  in  Cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

In  the  Whirlpool.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana,"  "L'Assommoir,"  etc.  With  an 
Illustrated  cover  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  $i  25  in  Cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

A  Mad  Love:  or,  The  Abbe  and  His  Court.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana," 
and  "L'Assommoir."  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  $1.25  in  Cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

Claude's  Confession.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana,"  "L'Assommoir,"  "fat- 
Bouille"  "The  Girl  in  Scarlet,"  etc.  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  581.25  in  cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

H£lene.  A  Tale  of  Love  and  Passion.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana,"  and  "L'Assom- 
moir." With  a  Picture  of  "  He  line  "  on  the  cover.  Price  73  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  $i  .25  in  Cloth. 

The  Mysteries  of  Marseilles.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana,"  "L'Assommoir," 
"  The  Girl  'in  Scarlet,"  etc.  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  $1.25  in  Cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

Albiiie  ;  or,  The  Abbe's  Temptation.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana,"  and  "L'At- 
iommoir."  With  a  Picture  of  "Albinf  "  on  the  cover.  Price  75  cents  in  paper,  or  $1.25  in  Cloth. 

Masdnlen  Ferat.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana."  With  a  Picture  of  "  Magdalt* 
Perat"  on  the  cover.  Price  75  csnts  in  paper  cover,  or  $1.25  in  Cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

Thfrese  Raquin.  By  Emile  Zola,  author  of  "Nana."  With  a  Portrait  of  "Emile  Zola" 
yn  the  coz>er.  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  One  Dollar  in  Cloth,  Black  and  Gold. 

Nana's  Daughter.  A  Continuation  of  and  Sequel  to  Emile  Zola's  Great  Realistic  Novel  of 
"Nana."  Price  75  cents  in  paper  cover,  or  Jt.oo  in  cloth,  black  and  gold. 

f£S~  Above  Books  are  for  sale  by  all  Booksellers  and  News  Agents,  at  all  News  Stands  every- 
where, and  on  all  Railroad  Trains,  or  copies  of  any  one  book,  or  all  of  them,  will  be  sent  to  any 
OHt,  at  once,  post-paid,  on  remitting  the  price  of  the  ones  wanted  in  a  letter  to  the  Publiskeri, 

T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


PETEESONS^JVEW    BOOKS. 

THOSE  PRETTY  ST.  GEORGE  GIRLS.  The  most 
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GUY'S  MARRIAGE;  or,  The  Shadow  of  a  Sin.  By 
Henry  Greville.  Paper  cover,  75  cents;  cloth,  81.25. 

THE  PRAIRIE  FLOWER;  and  its  Sequel,  LENI  LEOTI. 
By  Emerson  Bennett.  Paper  cover,  75  cents  ;  cloth,  $1.00. 

L'EVANGELISTE;  or,  The  Salvation  Army.  ByAlphonse 
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CAMILLE;  or,  THE   PATE  OF  A  COQUETTE.    By 

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VIDOCQ!  THE  FRENCH  DETECTIVE.  With  his  Por- 
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A  PARISIAN  ROMANCE.  The  Book  the  Play  was  taken 
from.  By  Octave  Feuillet.  Paper  cover,  50  cents ;  cloth,  81.00. 

CONSUELO;     and     COUNTESS    OF     RUDOLSTADT. 

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SYLVIE'S  BETROTHED.  A  Society  Novel  in  Hijrh  Life. 
By  Henry  Greville.  Paper  cover,  75  cents;  cloth,  81.25. 

A  RUSSIAN  PRINCESS.  A  Love  Story.  By  Emmanuel 
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A  WOMAN'S  PERILS;  or,  DRIVEN  FROM  HOME. 

By  Mrs.  James  C.  Cook.     Paper  cover,  75  cents;  cloth.  81.25. 

LA  FAUSTIN.  A  Life  Study.  By  Edmond  De  Goncourt.  With 
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HELEN'S  BABIES;  and  MRS.  MAYBURN'S  TWINS. 

By  John  Habberion.  Paper,  50  cents  each;  cloth,  81.00  each. 
ANNALS  OF  A  BABY!  BESSIE'S  SIX  LOVERS!  and 

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each  by  Emile  Zola,  also  N ANA'S  DAUGHTER,  the  &qud 

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HENRY  GREVILLE'S  NEW  BOOKS, 

SYLVIE'S    BETROTHED.     A    Charming    Love    Story.     By 

Henry  Greville.     Price  75  cents  in  paper,  or  $1.25  in  cloth. 
TANIA'S    PERIL.     By  Henry   Greville,    author    of  "  Dosia," 

"Sonia,"  etc.     Price  50  cents  in  paper,  or  $1.00  in  cloth. 
DOSIA.     A  Russian  Story.     By  Henry  Greville,  author  of  "  Saveli's 

Expiation."     Price  75  cents  in  paper,  or  $1.25  in  cloth. 
SAVELI'S  EXPIATION.    A  Russian  Story.    By  Henry  Greville, 

author  of  "  Dosia."     Paper,  50  cents ;  or  $1.00  in  cloth. 

THE  PRINCESS  OGHEROF.     A  Russian  Love  Story.     By 

Henry  Greville.     Price  75  cents  in  paper,,  or  81.00  in  cloth. 
SONIA.     A  Russian  Story.     By  Henry  Greville,  author  of  "  Save"li'» 

Expiation."     Price  50  cents  in  paper,  or  $1.00  in  cloth. 
THE  TRIALS  OP  RAISSA.     By  Henry  Greville,  author  of 

"  Dosia."     Price  75  cents  in  paper,  or  $1.00  in  cloth. 
BONNE-MARIE.     A  Tak  of  Normandy  and  Paris.     By  Henry 

Grev-ille.     Price  50  cents  in  paper,  or  $1.00  in  cloth. 

PHILOMENE'S  MARRIAGES.    By  Henry  Greville,  author 
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XENIE'S    INHERITANCE.     A   Russian  Story.     By  Henry 
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PRETTY     LITTLE     COUNTESS     ZINA.     By     Henry 

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GABRTELLE;  or,  The  House  of  Maureze.    By  Henry 

Greville.     Price  50  cents  in  paper,  or  $1.00  in  cloth. 

MARRYING   OFF  A  DAUGHTER.     By  Henry   Greville, 
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DOURNOF.  A  Russian  Novel.  Paper  cover,  50  cents;  cloth,  $1.00. 
LUCIE  RODEY.  By  Henry  Greville.  Paper,  50  cents;  cloth,  $1.00. 
A  FRIEND.  By  Henry  Greville.  Paper,  50  cents;  cloth,  $1.00. 
MARKOF.  A  Russian  Novel.  By  Henry  Greville,  author  of 
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